75-Year-old Woman Charged with Running Over and Killing Her 9-Week-Old Puppy after Using Dog Food to Lure the Puppy Under Her Van

75-Year-old Woman Charged with Running Over and Killing Her 9-Week-Old Puppy after Using Dog Food to Lure the Puppy Under Her Van

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A 75-year-old woman has been charged with felony animal cruelty after she was seen on video using dog food to lure her 9-week-old puppy under her minivan and then running over the puppy’s head and leaving the animal to die on a Santa Ana street last month.

Hanh Minh Nguyen 75, of Anaheim, was arrested on Thursday, October 2, 2026, by the Santa Ana Police Department after detectives used automated license plate reader technology to identify the green Honda Odyssey minivan seen in the September 8, 2026, video running over and killing the puppy.

Nguyen has been charged with one felony count of animal cruelty, one felony count of animal abuse by a caretaker, and one felony enhancement of personal use of a weapon, a vehicle, to kill the animal. Nguyen was released from custody after posting $20,000 bail. She is scheduled at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on November 2, 2026, in Department C55.

On September 8, 2026, at approximately 9:15am, Santa Ana Police Department Animal Services officers responded to a report of a dead black and white male pit bill mix puppy that appeared to have been intentionally run over. The puppy’s head had been crushed and there was dog food on the street next to where the dog was run over.

Surveillance video from a nearby residence showed a woman take the puppy from a minivan, place it under the vehicle, put dog food near the driver’s door, and slowly drive forward as the puppy approached the food, crushing the puppy’s head with the minivan’s rear tire before driving away.

“This act of violence not only ended the life of an innocent puppy, but it also inflicted trauma on every single person who came across the video footage of the murder of an animal,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.  “Violence is not a singular act. It inflicts pain and suffering on those who are subjected to it and on those who witness it. As the elected District Attorney of Orange County, I refuse to accept a society in which violence of any kind is acceptable, and those who engage in violence, whether it is against human beings or animals, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

Deputy District Attorney Danica Drotman of the Animal Cruelty Unit is prosecuting this case.

Click here for full press release.

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