Diego Jaimes Angel (Tulsa Police Dept.) and Atlas the goldendoodle (KOKO screenshot)
A 41-year-old dog groomer in Oklahoma has been arrested for allegedly killing a dog in his care after a co-worker came forward and told authorities she saw him beating and hanging the animal. Diego Jaimes Angel was taken into custody on Friday and charged with one count of felony cruelty to animals over the horrific incident, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Tulsa Police Department, an individual on Sept. 1, 2023, contacted the Tulsa Animal Welfare Pets (TAW) agency and reported that a 4-year-old goldendoodle had been killed at the Doggy Doodles Grooming establishment located in the 8200 block of S. Harvard Avenue. TAW personnel responded to the business and began investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the animal, whose name was “Atlas.”
Authorities took possession of Atlas’ body, which was transported to the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostics Laboratory in Stillwater where a necropsy was performed.
Investigators said they also uncovered evidence “related to the incident” which allegedly demonstrated that Angel mistreated the dog while it was in his care.
“On September 7, Tulsa Animal Welfare, assisted by the Tulsa Police Department, obtained an arrest warrant from the Tulsa County District Court for felony Animal Cruelty charges,” police wrote in the release. “Diego Jaimes Angel was located at a dog show by the Elk City Police Department, taken into custody and extradited back to Tulsa County.”
A copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by Tulsa Fox affiliate KOKO-TV provided additional details about the investigation into Angel.
According to the report, a female employee at the animal grooming establishment was the person who initially reached out to authorities, telling them that she was working when the atrocious scene unfolded.
“She looked up to see [Angel] ‘hanging’ the dog and punching the dog repeatedly,” police reportedly wrote in the affidavit. “She stated that this continued for several minutes.”
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The female employee reportedly explained to investigators that Angel “had the dog positioned with the grooming lead (leash) attached to the table bar where the dog was being choked and hung.” Atlas was reportedly left hanging for more than one minute.
When questioned by police, Angel allegedly said that while he was grooming Atlas, the dog started to “flail.” That made Angel back up to avoid possibly being bitten by the animal, per KOKO. Angel allegedly claimed the dog then “pooped on the table and required a second bath” before being put back on the grooming table. Angel and one of the owners of the establishment reportedly told police that Atlas then had a seizure and they performed CPR before bringing the dog to an animal hospital located across the street where Atlas was pronounced dead.
However, security footage from an indoor surveillance camera reportedly undercut Angel’s version of events.
“The video footage revealed that [Angel] punched Atlas numerous times and appeared to be choking Atlas using the groomers lead,” police reportedly wrote in the affidavit. “The punches appeared to coincide with Atlas pooping on the grooming table.”
According to a report from Tulsa NBC affiliate KJRH-TV, a security company employee who viewed the video of Atlas’ death described the footage as showing “a man murdering a dog.”
Angel was booked into the Tulsa County Jail on Friday and released on Sunday after posting $4,000 bond. He is facing a maximum sentence of five years in a state correctional facility.
Speaking to KOKO, Atlas’ owner was clearly upset about what was done to his pet.
It’s a shock that somebody could be that cruel,” Anthony Sinor told the outlet.
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