Orange County prosecutors announced charges October 2 against Hanh Minh Nguyen, 75, of Anaheim, in the death of a puppy identified by police as Blackey. The District Attorney’s Office alleges she used food to draw the dog beneath her minivan before running over him on a Santa Ana street.
What prosecutors filed
The official release lists one felony count of animal cruelty and one felony count of animal abuse by a caretaker. It also alleges personal use of a weapon, identified as the vehicle. That enhancement is separate from the two counts; none is a conviction.
The case number is 26CF4923. Prosecutors say Nguyen posted $20,000 bail and is scheduled in Department C55 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on November 2. NBC Los Angeles identifies that hearing as an arraignment.
The name and age differ across reports
Early coverage, including NBC Los Angeles, names the defendant as Hahn Nguyen. The prosecutor’s October 2 announcement uses Hanh Minh Nguyen, the name used here.
The puppy’s age is also unresolved: the District Attorney’s release says nine weeks, while NBC’s police based coverage says nine months. Both accounts concern the September 8 incident, the October 1 arrest and the puppy’s death. We have left a precise age out of the headline and lead.
NBC reports that police responded to the 900 block of West Park Lane on September 8 after a puppy was found dead. Investigators obtained surveillance video and later used automated license plate readers to identify the vehicle in Anaheim. Nguyen was arrested October 1.
The October 2 filing is a new stage after the police investigation. The next scheduled hearing is November 2; the sources reviewed do not record a plea or a verdict.
Sources
How we reported this: We checked the official charging announcement against NBC’s report. The prosecutor’s spelling controls here; the conflicting puppy ages are disclosed. The official release, rather than a court docket, is our source for the case number and scheduled appearance.
