A man who allegedly used a shovel to beat a dog to death in Whitewater was arrested by cops on Tuesday in Indio.
The awful details of the act, via The Desert Sun:
Police allege that on June 8, Efren Rodriguez Martinez, 54, severely beat a 3-year-old stray terrier mix named Rusty with a shovel in the backyard of his property at a Kimdale Drive property.
He is then accused of using the tool to toss the severely injured dog over his fence.
A neighbor who witnessed the event told Riverside County Department of Animal Services officer Kyle Stephens that he saw Martinez “swing the shovel and hit the dog one last time before scooping the dog upon the shovel and tossing it over his back fence into the desert.”
Another neighbor called 911 and when authorities arrived, they found that Rusty was beaten so badly that he could barely move and one of his eyes popped out. He was taken to VCA Valley Animal Medical Center in Indio for emergency treatment where he died two days later.
Martinez was arrested for felony animal cruelty and could face up to eight years in a state prison.
