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EDINBURG — A McAllen woman facing animal cruelty charges after police found 33 dead dogs in a U-Haul in 2019 appears to be heading toward a trial early next year.
Christina Arriaga, 39, is facing two counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals after a police officer found the dead dogs in a U-Haul cargo area after they smelled a strong odor coming from the vehicle.
State District Judge Marla Cuellar on Monday scheduled Arriaga for trial in early February.
On June 24, 2020, a hearing on a motion to suppress alleged that Pharr police stopped Arriaga, who was driving a U-Haul, without probable cause and ordered her to open the vehicle’s cargo area.
The motion to suppress alleged that the traffic stop and the seizure were unconstitutional and illegal.
However, prosecutors argued that Arriaga wasn’t pulled over but parked in a parking lot when the responding officer approached the vehicle when they smelled the strong odor emitting from the U-Haul.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the responding officer could smell the strong odor even before opening the truck’s door.
The affidavit further states that Arriaga told police “she and her husband came up with the plan to rent the U-Haul truck, and place the canines inside of the box truck and drive them around until the City of Pharr Animal Control left their apartment.”
Pharr police received a call from a witness who reported seeing Arriaga loading puppies into the U-Haul cargo area, according to the affidavit.
In 2019, former Pharr Animal Control Supervisor Frank Villarreal told The Monitor that Animal Control was in the process of obtaining a search warrant over allegations that Arriaga was breeding dogs inside her apartment.
Villarreal previously stated that at least five of the dogs had been dead for some time and the others likely died from the lack of ventilation and extreme heat inside the truck.
Only one dog survived.
He added that animal control had an appointment to inspect Arriaga’s unit at the VIP Estates Apartments after receiving complaints about the odor and had previously visited the apartment days before Arriaga’s arrest, but were unable to contact her or her husband.
She has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on a $10,000 bond.
