A 33-year-old Newbury Park man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a rescue dog that died after she was taken from the Paw Works shelter in Camarillo in June.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest Wednesday after conducting a warrant search at the man’s Newbury Park residence. Wednesday’s search reportedly turned up evidence linking the suspect to the June 9 burglary as well as a subsequent burglary attempt at the same facility on Sept. 4. The sheriff’s office is contracted to provide police services in Camarillo.
The man has not yet been formally charged by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. The Star generally does not name suspects until they have been charged by prosecutors.
In the June incident, Pretty Girl, a German shepherd about 2 or 3 years old, was taken from the shelter on Pleasant Valley Road in an incident caught on surveillance video. The dog was found hours later along Highway 101 at Wendy Drive in Newbury Park. She had severe injuries after apparently having been hit by a car, officials said.
A good Samaritan had rushed Pretty Girl to the Paw Works Veterinary Hospital in Thousand Oaks, but the dog died at the hospital.
The nonprofit rescue group had issued a public plea for help and offered a reward for tips leading to an arrest in the case.
On Wednesday, shelter officials reacted to news of an arrest.
“It takes everything I have not to cry,” said Brittany Vizcarra, director of operations at the Paw Works shelter in Camarillo. “It’s something we were realistically aware couldn’t happen or could take years to happen. The fact that this was able to come to a head at this point, our entire team is just elated.”
Vizcarra didn’t immediately know the status of the possible reward.
The Paw Works animal shelter in Camarillo stopped accepting dogs and cats in August because it was told it needed to vacate its building on Pleasant Valley Road.
During the Sept. 4 incident, Paw Works officials received an alarm activation during the early morning hours, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives reviewing surveillance video determined the same suspect had tried to get inside the facility for a second time.
A neighboring business that provided video helped investigators identify the suspect. The sheriff’s crime analysis unit assisted Camarillo investigators with the process.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of felony commercial burglary, felony animal cruelty and felony attempted commercial burglary. He remained in Ventura County jail Wednesday evening in lieu of $60,000 bail, jail records show.
A hearing at Ventura County Superior Court has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday in room 13, according to jail records.
This story may be updated.
Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at brian.varela@vcstar.com or 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.