Dozens of dogs rescued from Neenach home; 2 arrested

LANCASTER – Detectives arrested a convicted felon and his uncle and seized firearms after a dozen small dogs were rescued from “deplorable” conditions at a home in the Neenach area of the Antelope Valley, authorities said.

The arrests were made in the unincorporated community west of Lancaster, where detectives were serving a search warrant, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“The investigation, spearheaded by a Gorman deputy, involved a suspect who allegedly made serious criminal threats against employees at a utilities company,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.

The dogs were “housed in deplorable conditions without adequate care,” officials said.

“Deputies found a box of Cheerios cereal that they readily poured on the floor to feed the famished pups,” officials said. “Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control was contacted, and officers responded in hazmat suits to take possession of the dogs.”

Twenty-two firearms were seized at the home. The guns allegedly belong to the suspect’s uncle, who also lived at the residence, the sheriff’s department reported.

“One of the firearms was an unregistered assault rifle,” according to the sheriff’s department.

The 43-year-old man who was the subject of the original investigation was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats and being a felon in possession of ammunition charges and his 63-year-old uncle was arrested on suspicion of felony weapons charges, according to the sheriff’s department.

Neither man’s name was immediately available.

The county Department of Animal Care and Control is conducting an animal cruelty investigation.

 

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