EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A 73-year-old El Paso man is facing animal cruelty charges after he allegedly beat and choked a puppy.
According to jail records, on Saturday, Carlos Fernandez, a resident of West El Paso, was arrested and booked into the El Paso County Downtown Jail on two counts of “cruelty to non-livestock animal (torture).” Saturday.
The El Paso Police Department said that the arrest came after EPPD’s Animal Cruelty Unit investigated an incident from July 8 that involved a two-month-old puppy boxer mix named “Harmony.”
The arrest affidavit stated that the incident happened at around 5:45 p.m. near the bus stop at the 600 block of Mesita, near Kern Place in West El Paso.
2-month-old puppy at the center of animal cruelty investigation. Credit: EPPD via Instagram
According to the investigation, witnesses saw Fernandez drag and kick the puppy across the hot pavement before choking him by pulling on his collar for five to six seconds, then putting the little dog inside a shopping bag.
EPPD said a vet examined the puppy and noted that it had suffered burns to all four paws and a fractured rib.
Paw showing burn injury. Credit: EPPD via Instagram
Police said Fernandez voluntarily gave up ownership and the puppy was surrendered to El Paso Animal Services.
EPPD said Fernandez was also given a citation for an animal-related offense involving the unlawful possession of a canine; this is because Fernandez is not allowed to have animals, as he has been previously convicted of animal cruelty.
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Mugshot of 69-year-old Carlos Jose Fernandez. (credit: El Paso Police Department){ }
Court records show that he had been previously convicted once in 2015, when he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison, and a second time in 2024, when he was sentenced to five years, but that sentence was ultimately suspended, and he was given five years of community service.
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