A 27-year-old man is facing a felony charge after police accused him of drowning a golden retriever puppy in a Cypress hotel room.
Richard Benjamin Tolliver was charged Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to one count of cruelty to animals. His next court date is a May 16 pretrial hearing at the West Justice Center in Westminster.
Authorities were called to the Extended Stay motel at 5990 Corporate Drive about 8:50 a.m. Monday, May 6 in response to reports of smoke coming from a room, according to Sgt. Cassie Olivas of the Cypress Police Department.
Olivas said authorities found an item on fire in the room and a dead dog in a bathtub. Tolliver was the sole occupant in the hotel room, the sergeant said.
Authorities determined the 4-month-old female golden retriever’s death was not accidental based on the results of a necropsy, Olivas said.
