Man Accused Of Animal Cruelty For Allegedly Kicking Chihuahua In Police Lobby

SOUTH PASADENA (CBSLA.com) — A Los Angeles man was arrested for allegedly kicking a Chihuahua several times in the lobby of the South Pasadena police station.

Christian Andrew Najera, 48, was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty. He is being held on $20,000 bail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County sheriff's department.

A police records clerk was working at about 10 a.m. Saturday in an area near the front lobby when he heard a man yelling, South Pasadena police officials said.

When she looked at a monitor showing a live video feed of the lobby, she saw a man with a small Chihuahua on a leash exiting the lobby. She then saw him return to the lobby, where he kicked the dog repeatedly and "violently" swing it in the air by its leash in a circular motion. The clerk notified a police dispatcher as to what was happening, officials said.

The suspect left the lobby with the dog while being followed by the records clerk and a police dispatcher, and responding officers found the man at Mound Avenue and Mission Street where he was arrested.

The suspect was later identified as Najera, a Los Angeles man with a lengthy criminal record, including several arrests and convictions for violent offenses.

The dog, who had unspecified injuries, was turned over to the custody of the Pasadena Human Society.