75-year-old Anaheim woman arrested for allegedly intentionally running over puppy

The Santa Ana Police Department arrested a 75-year-old woman on Thursday for allegedly intentionally driving her minivan over a puppy. 

On Wednesday, police asked for the public's help in identifying the minivan driver after releasing video of the  Sept. 8 incident. The following morning, Hahn Nguyen, of Anaheim, was arrested for animal cruelty and abandonment, and police said the alleged vehicle involved was located inside her garage.

Police said Nguyen admitted to owning and abandoning her 9-month-old pit bull, "Blackey."  

Last month, City of Santa Ana Animal Services responded to 900 West Park Lane, where a woman reported that a minivan was parked in the area and that the driver appeared to intentionally run over a dog.

Police said officers and animal services responded and found an approximately 9-month-old black-and-white pit bull mix, dead.

"It appeared to be very much run over," Officer Natalie Garcia said. Police canvassed the area and found video surveillance of the incident.

In the video, an older-model Honda Odyssey drives into the area, where the female driver takes the puppy out of the van and places it under the car. She then places food near the front driver 's-side tire, slowly pulls forward, and runs over the puppy.

"The driver stays with the puppy underneath the vehicle for about 15 seconds before she proceeds to just drive off," Garcia said.

"And the puppy appears to be in distress. It's really hard to watch. And so we don't know why someone would ever do something like that."

Garcia noted that the license plate was illegible in the surveillance footage and that officers have been canvassing the area for the last three weeks, seeking more information about the vehicle.

"Thank you to everyone who shared this incident and contacted SAPD to offer support. Investigative leads, primarily using ALPR (automated license plate reader) technology, helped detectives identify the vehicle, locate the suspect, and bring accountability for Blackey," SAPD wrote in a news release.

Nguyen has been charged with one felony count of animal cruelty, one felony count of animal abuse by a caretaker, and one felony enhancement of personal use of a weapon, a vehicle, to kill the animal, prosecutors said.