Authorities Searching for Man Accused of Killing Dog
FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015 – Authorities are searching for a Whitewater man accused of using a shovel to beat a dog so severely that it caused the animal’s death. Efren Rodriguez Martinez, 53 (DOB: 7-7-1961), is suspected of using a shovel to beat the 3-year-old terrier mix on Monday, June 8. The dog succumbed to its injuries two days later.
A Riverside County deputy district attorney charged Mr. Martinez with a violation of Penal Code Section 597(a) – felony animal cruelty. The complaint filed in the Riverside County Superior Court in Indio includes a personal use of a weapon allegation. If convicted, Mr. Martinez faces up to eight years in state prison.
Soon after the charges were filed, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard Erwood signed an arrest warrant and Riverside County Animal Services officers and sheriff’s deputies drove to Mr. Martinez’s property in Whitewater, just east of Cabazon. Mr. Martinez has a prior strike (a first-degree burglary conviction from 1986), the bail amount was set at $100,000.
Mr. Martinez was not at the Kimdale Drive property and now authorities are keeping a watch for him. A trailer on Mr. Martinez’s property was damaged from what appeared to be a recent fire. His mother lives next door to the property. She told deputies that she did not know where her son was.
On June 8, Mr. Martinez is suspected of beating the dog with a shovel and then tossing it over his fence out of his own property. The neighbor told Animal Services officer Kyle Stephens that he heard the dog being hit and also witnessed another blow to the dog moments later.
The neighbor told Officer Stephens that he saw Mr. 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 resident, after hearing what had happened to Rusty, called 911. Officer Stephens said several residents were clearly distraught. The dog was not specifically owned by anyone, but several residents fed and cared for Rusty.
Officer Stephens was led to the dog, which was dumped in an area with desert chaparral. The dog was breathing heavily, whimpering and mostly motionless. The officer gingerly picked up the dog and carried him to his truck. He transported Rusty to the VCA Valley Animal Medical Center in Indio for emergency treatment. The dog succumbed to the injuries late on June 10.
Officer Stephens said he had never seen a dog in such a horrible state, except for those that had been hit by a car. “To think that a person caused the level of serious trauma to this innocent dog is mind blowing,” Officer Stephens said. “My colleagues were shocked when I told them how this dog was treated.”
