Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Location: Lockwood Valley Road west of Mill Canyon. Frazier Park, Ca. (Ventura County)
Date & Time: 11/30/09 / 1:55 PM
Unit Responsible: Lockwood Valley Sheriff's Sub-Station Patrol
(S)uspect, (V)ictim, (W)itnesses Address Age
Mario Cedillo
3200 Block Decator Trail.
Frazier Park, CA. 27

On 11/30/09, the Lockwood Valley Sheriff’s Sub-Station received a call from a local resident, who reported seeing a man in the process of abandoning approximately 12 puppies on the side of the road, in the area of Lockwood Valley Road, west of Mill Canyon. This location is within the boundaries of the Los Padres National Forest. The resident stopped and confronted the man, telling him he could not abandon the puppies there. The suspect quicky retrieved the puppies and put them into the bed of his truck before driving away. The resident recorded the man’s license plate number and description, and searched the area. He located one of the puppies, which had been left behind, and took custody of it.

A Lockwood Valley Resident Deputy relayed the suspect information to surrounding law enforcement agencies. A suspect broadcast was made in the area of Frazier Park, where a Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy located the suspect vehicle soon after, traveling eastbound on Frazier Mountain Park Road, in the area of Monterey Trail. The suspect (later identified as Mario Cedillo) was stopped and detained by deputies pending further investigation. At the time of his detention, the suspect had no puppies in his vehicle.

The resident witness was transported to the suspect, where he positively identified Cedillo. Cedillo was questioned and was generally uncooperative with the investigation. Based on the investigation, it was suspected that Cedillo was in the process of abandoning his puppies in the forest, where they were certain to die without care, when he was confronted by the resident. It was further suspected that Cedillo simply drove to another location, where he abandoned the puppies in a similar fashion. Cedillo refused to reveal the location where the puppies had been taken.

Cedillo was placed under arrest for felony animal cruelty and was transported to the Ventura County Jail, where he was further questioned. Based on his interview, the suspicions of abandonment were confirmed. Cedillo was booked into the Ventura County Jail for violation of 597(a) PC (Animal Cruelty), and 12500(a) VC (Unlicensed Driver). His bail was set at $15,000

Deputies and residents of Cuddy Valley mounted a search effort for several hours, which failed to reveal the location of the puppies.

On 12/1/09, deputies were notified that another Cuddy Valley resident, unaware of the initial search, had located 7 abandoned puppies at the end of Cherry Creek 4x4 Camp road, situated on the Tecuya Ridge of the Los Padres National Forest, on the previous evening. The resident reported going to this rarely visited area for snow play when he encountered abandoned puppies in the roadway. The resident took custody of the puppies for the evening and turned them over on 12/1/09. Lockwood Valley Resident Deputies were notified of the find and took custody of the puppies as evidence. Based on the investigation, it was suspected these were the same puppies seen with Cedillo the previous day.

The puppies’ care was transferred to Ventura County Animal Regulation officers for immediate medical treatment. Their medical condition was found to be poor / serious.

Anybody with information relating to these puppies, or Mario Cedillo, is encouraged to call the Lockwood Valley Sheriff’s Station at (661) 245-3829. This investigation is continuing.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department encourages anybody who is experiencing difficulty in handling or caring for animals to contact your local Animal Regulation or Humane Society for assistance or advice.