Menifee man arrested for allegedly striking Chihuahua with golf club

A Menifee man suspected of beating a neighbor’s Chihuahua with a golf club was released from jail today on $5,000 bail.

Larry Edward Jaurequi, 58, was booked Thursday afternoon on suspicion of felony animal cruelty for allegedly striking the six-pound dog so hard that he “sent the animal flying through the air,” said Riverside County sheriff’s Sergio Rodriguez.

Jaurequi posted bond this morning and was released from the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

Around 2 p.m. Thursday, the Chihuahua and a poodle mix got loose from their owner’s property in the 28100 block of Summitrose Drive, near High Ridge Circle, and roamed into a cul de sac, according to Rodriguez.

Jaurequi, who lives nearby, “took a golf club with him to the area of the dogs,” Rodriguez said. “Without reason or cause, the male swung the club against the Chihuahua as if driving a golf ball off its tee. The force of the swing sent the animal flying through the air. The suspect was preparing for a second swing when he was stopped by people that just witnessed his acts.”

The dog’s owner rushed the severely injured animal to a veterinary clinic, but the Chihuahua was not expected to survive, Rodriguez said.