San Juan man says he felt ‘alive’ choking dog to death

Jacob Luna

A 21-year-old San Juan man told police he felt “alive” when he choked his neighbor’s pug to death after stealing it from her residence on April 13, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Jacob Luna was charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal, theft of property, criminal trespass and tampering with physical evidence. He was arrested Friday and released the following day.

At 3:33 p.m., on April 16 or 17, San Juan police responded to 906 S. King Road in reference to a theft of an animal, according to the affidavit.

Police spoke to Brenda Gonzalez who said she believed her dog was stolen and possibly injured over the weekend. Gonzalez stated that she saw a man entering her property by jumping her fence and taking her dog after she reviewed her surveillance footage on April 13.

The footage showed a tall, thin build man wearing a T-shirt and shorts jumping Gonzalez’s fence and began to “aggressively” handle the pug, the affidavit said.

The man is then seen taking possession of the pug and leaves the location.

As authorities continued their investigation, one investigator located a witness who lives in the immediate vicinity who said they witnessed a man matching the descriptors running into an address located at 521 W. Sam Houston Blvd.

Following up on this information, police managed to identify Luna as a resident at said address.

During an interview with police, Luna “confessed to making entry to a property followed by taking the pug to his residence and ‘eliminating’ it by choking it to death,” the affidavit said.

“Mr. Luna emphasized that he felt “alive” during the process,” the affidavit said. “Mr. Luna stated he got rid of the pug by intentionally disposing it inside another resident’s trash can.”

Luna was booked on $9,000 in bonds and was released the following day.

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