Santa Ana Police arrested 75-year-old Hahn Nguyen on Thursday after surveillance video appeared to show a 9-month-old puppy being run over by a minivan on Sept. 8. The puppy, Blackey, was found dead after Animal Services officers responded to 900 W. Park Lane.
Police said Nguyen was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty and animal abandonment. The case is being sent to the Orange County district attorney’s office for filing consideration, which will determine whether charges are filed and, if so, under which statute.
Park Lane video
According to police, the video showed a woman emerging from a Honda Odyssey parked at 926 W. Park Lane at 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 8. She laid kibble on the ground near the driver’s-side door, placed the puppy down, and got back into the minivan before driving forward and pinning the animal under the back left tire for around 15 seconds.
The woman then drove northbound on Lowell Street. A neighbor had told officers she believed a woman intentionally killed the puppy with a minivan, and police said they found surveillance video that matched the report after canvassing the area. In a separate case, a man in A San Diego County was sentenced in 2024 to two years in prison for deliberately running over and killing a 17-year-old Bichon Frisé mix named Benny during a fit of road rage.
Hahn Nguyen and the black minivan
Police used automated license plate readers to identify the minivan and two addresses tied to it. Officers went to an Anaheim residence Thursday morning and found Nguyen inside, with the vehicle parked in the garage.
Nguyen admitted to owning Blackey and told detectives she abandoned him. She said she left the puppy at a park because it had been annoying her boyfriend by biting on his shoes and belongings, but she did not admit to running over it herself.
Santa Ana Police said, “Thank you to everyone who shared this incident and contacted SAPD to offer support.” The next step belongs to prosecutors, who will decide what, if anything, to file after reviewing the police case file.
