This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Concord Man Accused of Poisoning Three Dogs

Concord police make arrest after serving a search warrant on his residence.

UPDATE: Looks like the suspect used strychnine-laced meatballs. See the Contra Costa Times version.

 

Concord police and detectives this week arrested a Concord man, suspected of poisoning two dogs this month and one in 2003 after sending threatening notes.

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The suspected poisonings on June 4 occurred in the 1100 block of Mardon Court, near Highlands Park.

The suspect has been released pending toxicology reports and forensic examination, police reported. Police expect to present a case for willful cruelty to animals to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 The text of a Concord police media release follows:

 Subject:   Investigation of Local Dog Killings

 Concord, CA (June 17, 2011) - On Saturday, June 4, 2011 at about 10:00 PM, the Concord Police Department received the report of a (suspected) purposeful dog poisoning which had occurred in the 1100 block of Mardon Court.  The investigating officer spoke to the victim, who revealed she came home from work to find one of her dogs in obvious distress.  The dog, known as DJ, appeared to be having a seizure and she was having difficulty breathing.  The victim rushed the dog to the emergency veterinarian clinic but the dog unfortunately passed away. 

 The victim further explained to the officer that she had been sporadically receiving letters over the past year which threatened to kill her dogs. The victim found items consistent with the purposeful poisoning of DJ and the examining veterinarian believed DJ had been poisoned.  Given the nature of the crime and scant investigative leads, the investigation was referred to detectives of the Concord Police Financial Crimes Unit. 

 The victim’s second dog subsequently died, as well, also from an apparent poisoning occurring on June 4, 2011.  Subsequent investigation revealed an additional case of (suspected) purposeful dog poisoning which had occurred in the same neighborhood in 2003.  As in the most recent case, threatening letters preceded the killing of the dog in 2003.  The abhorrent nature of these crimes only provided additional motivation to the investigators to solve these cases.

 Further investigation revealed the suspected involvement of a resident in the neighborhood.  On June 15, 2011 Detectives of the Financial Crimes Unit served a search warrant at the suspect’s residence and collected several items of evidence.  The suspect was arrested and has been released pending the completion of toxicology reports and computer forensics examinations.  It is anticipated this case will ultimately be presented to the District Attorney’s Office for review and consideration for filing criminal charges against the suspect for willful cruelty to animals.

 Since this is a continuing investigation, no additional details will be released at this time.

 Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Financial Crimes Unit Detective Kevin Giacoletto at (925) 603-5820. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call the Concord Police Department Tip-line at (925) 603-5836.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.