The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office is charging a pair of Val Verde residents after deputies responded to a report of a dog bite near their home in March.
A neighbor was seriously wounded in the attack on Cromwell Avenue, where the couple live, and a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputy who responded shot one of the dogs involved, in a March 2 incident that was filmed by neighbors and shared with The Signal.
The owner of the dogs called the situation both an “unforeseen incident” and a “tragic accident” in an email to The Signal. Neighbors and an animal care official said that the incident was not the first time there’s been an incident involving the dogs.
An SCV Sheriff’s Station detective investigated the incident for several months before filing a pair of arrest-warrant requests that Judge Robert Sanchez DuFour granted July 24, according to the minute order for a hearing in Department S of the San Fernando Courthouse.
A felony complaint filed that same day charges both Enrique Humberto Del Toro, 46, and Melanie Flora, 42, with a felony count for failure to control a mischievous animal, Penal Code section 399 (b).
The complaint against Del Toro mentions nine previous convictions for a variety of offenses, including “joyriding,” petty theft with priors, drug convictions and grand theft, following a 1998 conviction for robbery, which was listed as a felony strike on his complaint.
Flora just has the 399 charge on her complaint.
Previous convictions can be listed on a complaint when prosecutors are seeking to use them for an enhanced sentence in the event of a new conviction.
Animal care officials labeled the initial March 2 call, “a dog running at large and biting a man in the hand,” according to a March 4 email from Paul Maradiaga, L.A. County animal control manager. Animal care responded along with the SCV Sheriff’s Station that night, due to the nature of the call.
Video shared with The Signal shows a confrontation in which loud barking can be heard, and then yelling and an initial shot, and then several shots being fired.
“Our (animal care officers) responded and upon arrival sheriff’s deputies were already at the location,” according to Maradiaga’s email. “LASD reported that the dog attacked a male subject (on the hand), and during the incident, a deputy discharged his firearm multiple times, wounding the dog in question. It is unclear whether the deputy discharged his weapon to protect the victim from further injury or in self-defense.”
The dog fled back to the owner, according to Maradiaga, but the dog was taken to the Palmdale Animal Care Center for treatment and ultimately had to be euthanized due to the severity of its injuries.
“Our (animal care officer) encountered two additional dogs on the premises that displayed aggressive behavior toward him. Due to the severity of the incident, prior reported calls against the address, inadequate containment, the aggressive behavior of the dogs, and the inability to contact the owner, a decision was made to remove all three dogs from the property for public safety reasons,” according to Maradiaga.
An SCV Sheriff’s Station official did not comment on the specific details of the incident in the days following.
On Monday, Deputy Mariela Picard referred questions about the criminal investigation to Detective Kevin Fleck, who did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Sheriff’s Department custody records indicate that Del Toro was taken into custody on Aug. 10 after an appearance at the San Fernando Courthouse, and then released on bond Aug. 11. His bail amount was not listed in the records, but the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office requested $125,000, per the bail schedule in court records.
Flora was arrested Aug. 4 by patrol deputies and “cited out,” or given a ticket to appear, in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to departmental custody records online.
