An Orange County woman who claimed to be running a charity animal rescue has been arrested for felony animal cruelty after prosecutors say she locked 18 dogs in her car without water in Newport Beach and left the body of one dead pup in some bushes in Irvine.
Priscilla Martin, 33, is charged with three felony counts of animal cruelty by a caretaker, 11 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty by a caretaker and one misdemeanor count of putting the body of a dead animal on the road, according to an Orange County District Attorney news release.
She pleaded not guilty Thursday and was released without bail, but was ordered to not have access to any animals.
The charges come after two separate incidents involving dogs allegedly in Martin’s care.
On July 4, a person called Newport Beach police reporting they saw dogs locked in a vehicle. When officers arrived, they found 18 dogs inside the car, including 14 that were in “wire crates and plastic carriers in extremely unsanitary conditions,” without water and covered in feces, authorities allege.
Thirteen of the 14 dogs seized by the Newport Beach Beach Animal Control were puppies, including two 6-week-old golden retriever puppies that were in critical condition because of untreated parasites. One of the puppies was euthanized, while the other is recovering from its wounds, according to the news release.
Then, on July 13, Irvine Police Department officers recovered a deceased dog from some bushes. The microchip in the dog identified the owner as Martin. According to prosecutors, a video showed Martin pulling into a parking lot where the dog was discovered dragging it into nearby bushes. A necropsy found that the dog died of heat stroke, officials said.
Martin advertises on social media that she runs a nonprofit animal rescue, known as K-9 Paws Rescue, Inc. Though the business had no legal records with the state, which is required to qualify as a nonprofit, authorities allege. Attempts to reach Martin and K-9 Paws Rescue Inc. were unsuccessful.
Martin was arrested Wednesday in Costa Mesa, where police found 14 more dogs in her car. The dogs will undergo health evaluations, officials said.
“The abuse of animals will never be tolerated, and anyone who engages in violence or neglect against animals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer, in the news release.
If convicted, Martin faces up to 15 years and 10 months in state prison. The Orange County public defender’s office has not yet assigned her an attorney, the department said.
