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Coachella Woman Arrested For Allegedly Dumping Newborn Puppies In Garbage Bin

COACHELLA (CBSLA) -- A woman who allegedly threw a bag filled with puppies into a trash bin in Coachella has been arrested.

Riverside County Animal Services arrested Deborah Culwell, 54, who is suspected of dumping seven newborn puppies into a trash container last week, according to Commander Chris Mayer.

Culwell was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Monday at her home in Coachella. She faces up to seven counts of felony animal cruelty.

Alleged Puppy Dumper
A woman is seen throwing seven three-day-old puppies into a dumpster in Coachella (credit: Riverside County Animal Services)

Investigators say the bag was sealed and cavalierly tossed into the bin, causing Animal Services to term the case one of "willful act of animal cruelty."

The woman believed to be Culwell is shown getting out of a white Jeep, walking over to the bin and tossing the bag in a trash bin located outside an auto parts store in the 49000 block of Grapefruit Boulevard.

Details of the arrest were not immediately disclosed.

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