Monterey County Woman Accused Of Abusing Dogs On Video
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A woman suspected of assaulting her three pit bulls in a case that was captured on video by a witness was arrested Tuesday by San Jose police on an outstanding warrant out of Monterey County, a police spokesman said.
Rehanna Reese, 39, was arrested shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday at a homeless encampment off of Tuers Road northwest of East Capitol Expressway, police Officer Albert Morales said.
Reese, a transient, was wanted in Monterey County on a no-bail arrest warrant for possession of stolen property, Morales said.
San Jose Animal Care and Services will be forwarding its information about Reese's alleged cruelty to her dogs to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, Morales said.
Animal control officers on Tuesday confiscated Reese's three pit bulls and are having the animals examined at the San Jose Animal Care Center to see if they suffered any injuries, animal care spokesman Capt. Jay Terrado said.
"I'm happy we were able to get a positive outcome, getting the dogs out of her hands and her in jail," Terrado said.
Around 10:30 a.m. Monday, a private investigator working on an unrelated matter reported seeing a woman kicking three dogs and yanking their leashes violently while walking them on Loupe Avenue near Breen Court in South San Jose.
The investigator, Joey McGlinchy, who works in Pleasanton, used a handheld camera to shoot a video of the alleged abuse and then called animal control to report it.
McGlinchy helped an animal control officer search for the woman on Monday but could not find her. McGlinchy said neighbors told him they suspected she did not live there and was a transient.
On Tuesday, animal control officers showed images of the woman to San Jose police and employees working at the San Jose Municipal Water System at the end of Loupe at Tuers, which is near the homeless camp, Terrado said.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Animal Care and Services got a call from a water system employee who thought she spotted the suspect at the homeless camp off of Tuers, Terrado said.
Animal control arrived at the camp and Reese, who had two of her three dogs with her, gave them a name that turned out to be false and "we called police," Terrado said.
When San Jose police officers got to the camp, Reese agreed to give her true name and police discovered that an unrelated warrant had been issued for her arrest, Terrado said. She was taken into custody.
Officers took away two of her dogs and found the third tied to a tree near the camp, Terrado said.
Without the investigator's video, officers likely would not have been able to track down Reese, Terrado said.
The district attorney's office will decide whether to charge Reese with felony or misdemeanor animal cruelty or have her issued a citation, Terrado said.
McGlinchy's company had offered a $500 reward in the case, and he said Wednesday that the money will be given to the tipster this week.
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