Dog Found Shot to Death in Yard; Neighbor Held

A man was arrested Friday morning after he allegedly shot and killed his neighbors’ dog, according to police.

Otoniel Carrascoza, 36, was charged with negligent discharge of a handgun after the incident, which took place about 12:15 a.m. on the 18300 block of Schoolcraft Street, according to LAPD spokesperson Eddy Zelaya.

Zelaya said that earlier in the week Carrascoza’s dog, a Rottweiler mix, got into a vicious fight with his neighbor’s dog, a pit bull mix. Carrascoza’s neighbor, who was not identified by police, took both dogs to the veterinarian for treatment, Zelaya said.

But on Friday morning the dogs were fighting again and Carrascoza’s neighbors told police they were startled by the sound of gunfire. Upon investigating, the couple found their dog dead from gunshot wounds in their backyard, said Zelaya.

Carrascoza told police the dogs, which got to each other through a hole in a fence separating the neighbors’ yards, were fighting on his property and that he hoped to scare them by firing shots at the ground. Police said they found several spent casings in Carrascoza’s yard.

LAPD Det. Rick Swanston, who is overseeing the case, said investigators were trying to determine if the dog was shot in Carrascoza’s yard, or if he shot through the fence and into his neighbor’s property.

Carrascoza is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail at the West Valley Division jail.