Menifee man pleads not guilty to beating dog to death

RIVERSIDE - A Menifee man accused of fatally beating a neighbor's Chihuahua with a golf club pleaded not guilty today to a felony animal cruelty charge.

Larry Edward Jaurequi, 58, could face four years behind bars if convicted in the Jan. 26 attack. Along with the animal abuse charge, he faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez allowed the defendant to remain free on $5,000 bail and set an April 16 felony settlement conference.

Jaurequi allegedly struck a six-pound Chihuahua so hard the foot-high animal flew through the air, suffering catastrophic internal injuries.

The dog, named Lilly, had escaped from her owner's house and wandered onto a cul de sac in the 28100 block of Summitrose Drive, near High Ridge Circle, where Jaurequi resides, sheriff's Sgt. Sergio Rodriguez said.

The defendant spotted the dog and, with a golf club in hand, positioned himself next to it, according to Rodriguez.

"Without reason or cause, the male swung the club against the Chihuahua as if driving a golf ball off its tee," the sergeant alleged. "The force of the swing sent the animal flying through the air. The suspect was preparing for a second swing when he was stopped by people that just witnessed his acts."

The dog's owner, Barbara Hitchman, said she went looking for Lilly immediately after the pooch ran off. Hitchman discovered Lilly lying on the ground moments after the alleged attack, leading the distraught woman to confront Jaurequi.

"I told him, 'You're insane. You're psycho. You need to be locked away,'" she told a local news station. "He said, 'Your dog shouldn't be loose anyway.'"

Hitchman took the severely injured Chihuahua to a veterinary clinic, where the pet died a short time later.

Riverside - A Menifee man accused of fatally beating a neighbor's Chihuahua with a golf club is slated to be arraigned today.

Larry Edward Jaurequi, 58, could face four years behind bars if convicted of felony animal cruelty, as well as a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the Jan. 26 attack. He is free on $5,000 bail.

According to Riverside County sheriff's officials, the defendant struck a six-pound Chihuahua so hard the foot-high animal flew through the air, suffering catastrophic internal injuries.

The dog, named Lilly, had escaped from her owner's house and wandered onto a cul de sac in the 28100 block of Summitrose Drive, near High Ridge Circle, where Jaurequi resides, sheriff's Sgt. Sergio Rodriguez said.

The defendant spotted the dog and, with a golf club in hand, positioned himself next to it, according to Rodriguez. ''Without reason or cause, the male swung the club against the Chihuahua as if driving a golf ball off its tee,'' the sergeant alleged.

''The force of the swing sent the animal flying through the air. The suspect was preparing for a second swing when he was stopped by people that just witnessed his acts.''

The dog's owner, Barbara Hitchman, said she went looking for Lilly immediately after the pooch ran off. Hitchman discovered Lilly lying on the ground moments after the alleged attack, leading the distraught woman to confront Jaurequi.

''I told him, 'You're insane. You're psycho. You need to be locked away,''' she told a local news station. ''He said, 'Your dog shouldn't be loose anyway.'''

Hitchman took the severely injured Chihuahua to a veterinary clinic, where the pet died a short time later.