SF Gate
February 24, 2015
An Oakland man was arrested on suspicion of felony animal cruelty for allegedly burning a dog alive in a crate that he dumped on a Sacramento street, officials said Friday.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 22, crews from the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded to what was reported as a small debris fire outside the Oak Plains Masonic Lodge on Becerra Way.
They discovered the fire was contained to a small plastic dog carrier — with the charred remains of a 8- or 9-month-old puppy inside, officials said.
A necropsy determined that the dog was a small, tan-colored, mixed-breed female that had been burned alive while trapped inside the dog carrier.
An investigation was launched by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, and a hefty reward was offered by the Sacramento SPCA, funded mostly by community donations.
Aided by tips from the public, authorities arrested 20-year-old Oakland resident Willie Bee Turner on Thursday. His bail was set at $35,000.