DENVER — About two weeks after a driver was spotted dragging a dog by its leash behind a truck, Denver police announced they had arrested a suspect in the case.
On Tuesday, Denver police said officers took Jacob Ibarra, 24, into custody on March 12. The Denver District Attorney's Office said he has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty and tampering with evidence.
The charges stem from an incident on March 1 around 3 p.m., when witnesses reported seeing a truck traveling at S. Platte Drive and W. Mississippi Avenue and noticed a dog was being dragged behind it by a leash. The witnesses told police the truck was traveling at least 45 mph, according to an arrest affidavit.
Witnesses were able to get the driver to stop and the driver and passenger got out of the car. When they saw the dog, which was no longer on the leash, and people taking pictures, they fled in the truck and left the dog behind, according to an arrest affidavit.
The dog was brought to a nearby animal hospital, where it was pronounced deceased.
On March 9, police received an anonymous tip that the person who committed the crime was named Jacob and provided a phone number for him. The tipster also said the suspect was hiding the truck involved and was trying to get rid of it. Data showed that the phone number belonged to a man named Jacob Raffit Ibarra who lived on E. 82nd Avenue in Commerce City, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police went to the address and saw a vehicle in a yard behind a locked gate. The vehicle had been spray-painted black, including the red tailgate, and did not have a license plate. Otherwise, the vehicle matched the description of the one involved in the March 1 crime, according to an arrest affidavit. Police also found a temporary license plate that matched the number witnesses had provided to police in the days after the crime.
Investigators were able to locate Ibarra and he was taken into custody on March 12.
