Photo: Sonoma sheriff.
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. - A Santa Rosa man allegedly backed his Maserati over a dog walker who yelled at him to slow down in Boyes Hot Springs this week, killing the dog and injuring its owner, authorities said Thursday.
Juan Mendoza-Meza, 30, was arrested on Wednesday for assault with a deadly weapon and felony animal cruelty after detectives followed leads from the public, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.
The victim was walking his terrier mix dog about 9 a.m. Monday along Las Lomas Road near Central Avenue in Boyes Hot Springs when a white Maserati approached at a high rate of speed. As the Maserati passed, the man yelled at the driver to slow down.
The car stopped and the driver reversed the car, accelerating and hitting both the man and the dog, according to the sheriff's office. The dog died at the scene and the man was hospitalized.
After authorities posted information about the assault on social media, detectives on Wednesday tracked down the Maserati, backed into a driveway in the 1000 block of Elmwood Drive in Santa Rosa.
The car's trunk had significant damage and the vehicle was towed to the sheriff's office.
About 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, detectives found Mendoza-Meza at a home in the 100 block of Butterfly Lane in Santa Rosa. He was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Jail and is on a no-bail hold.