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 Ryan Watenpaugh, 34, of Palo Cedro was arrested on Thursday and
charged with counts of domestic violence, false imprisonment,
stalking and cruelty to animals, according to records from the
Shasta County Jail.
Watenpaugh's ex-grilfriend, who was not named by authorities, called
Redding Police Department on Tuesday and reported being stalked by
Watenpaugh, police said in a statement.
She told law enforcement officials that their relationship was
punctuated by bouts of domestic violence, but the two attempted to
reconcile their problems last week over a meal that he cooked.
Following the meal, which contained meat, Watenpaugh sent her text
messages asking how her dog tasted, police said. A few days later,
he left a bag on her porch that contained two dog paws.
The victim's dog, a Pomeranian named Bear, had been missing since
August after she fled the apartment to escape one of Watenpaugh's
assaults, police said.
Police said they interviewed Watenpaugh and he admitted to menacing
her and leaving the paws on her porch, but denied killing or cooking
the animal.
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While executing a search warrant on his house, authorities found an
AK-47 assault rifle and several high capacity magazines, police
said.
Watenpaugh is being held in the Shasta County Jail on $250,000 bail,
according to jail records. It was not clear if he had an attorney.
Redding is roughly 160 miles northwest of Sacramento.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco)
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