19-year-old slit dog’s throat and gloated about it on Snapchat, federal prosecutors say

Federal charges have been filed against a Riverside man who investigators say slit his dog’s throat and then gloated about it on social media.

More than two months after Riverside police arrested 19-year-old Angel Ramos-Corrales, the U.S. attorney has charged him with animal crushing, a federal crime related to causing serious bodily injury to an animal.

The disturbing incident began Feb. 13 about 6 p.m., when someone called the Riverside Police Department to report a video on Ramos-Corrales’ Snapchat account of a dog with its throat slashed, according to an affidavit that FBI Special Agent Colin Schmitt filed Friday.

The video showed a small brown dog, identified as a 10-week-old Chihuahua named Canelo that Ramos-Corrales had purchased on Craigslist for less than $50, lying on its side with a large cut to its neck, court records show.

“I smoked his little a—. Like that, homie, this is real life,” Ramos-Corrales said in the video, according to court documents. “I ain’t no b—. I’m cold-hearted.”

At the end of the video, the affidavit states, Ramos-Corrales kicked the dog and said, “Mo-f— is dead.”

He sent the video to several people on his friends’ list, police said, some of whom responded with, “Eww,” and “Foo I hope you didn’t do that.” Another said: “You just need to stop hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

His roommate later told police that when he’d arrived home around 5 p.m., he heard Ramos-Corrales yelling in his room and saw the dog folded in a bathroom rug, near where blood was splattered on the sink. Concerned for his safety, the roommate locked himself in his room, court documents show.

Riverside police arrived at Ramos-Corrales’ home in the 3500 block of Lou Ella Lane about 7:45 p.m. for a potential animal cruelty investigation, according to court records. Officer Devan Hussey spotted Ramos-Corrales with cuts on his hands and wearing a blood-splattered gray hoodie. A pat-down search revealed that the man was carrying brass knuckles, according to the affidavit. Officers arrested him and booked him on felony charges of animal cruelty and illegal possession of metal knuckles.

Ramos-Corrales told investigators that he had been at home most of the day, drinking, listening to music, texting people and smoking marijuana alone in his room with the dog. Canelo had grown “moody” and pooped inside his cage, then nipped at Ramos-Corrales, “which caused him to lose control,” court documents state.

He “claimed he did not recall exactly what he did to the dog, but stated the dog was ‘still breathing.’ He referred to himself as a ‘cold blooded killer’ and said he could not stop himself from hurting the dog. But he also said he felt remorse for what he did to the dog,” the affidavit continues, adding that Ramos-Corrales had used hydrogen peroxide on the dog’s wound.

A veterinarian described Canelo as severely wounded, including fractures in its head and chest. The dog was nonresponsive, though his heart was still beating. Officials euthanized Canelo, who “died instantly/peacefully,” according to court records.

“This appeared to be a very savage act committed toward this poor animal,” Riverside’s animal services director Julie Bank said in a statement at the time. “It is very unfortunate the dog could not be saved.”

When the FBI interviewed Ramos-Corrales weeks later, he said that he’d “freaked out” after the incident.

He told federal investigators that his brother had become involved in gang violence, and when the FBI interviewed his sister, she said their oldest brother was often in prison and she suspected Ramos-Corrales posted the video on Snapchat to impress him.

Ramos-Corrales was released on $15,000 bond after a court hearing Monday, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. His arraignment is scheduled for June 1.