East Palo Alto man accused of sending dog to charge at police
PALO ALTO – A 30-year-old man has been charged with two counts of assault for allegedly releasing his aggressive dog to charge at police officers outside of a home in East Palo Alto last weekend, prompting them to open fire at the dog, San Mateo County prosecutors said Wednesday.
Antonio Sotelo-Lozano was arrested after the interaction that started around 8 p.m. Saturday when his mother called 911 after Sotelo-Lozano was allegedly drunk and fell at his home, resulting in bleeding and bruising on his face, according to the county District Attorney's Office.
When officers responded to the home, Sotelo-Lozano allegedly screamed at them to get off his property and called for his large pit bull named Raider to come from the back of the house. The dog came to the side yard and the two officers warned him not to release the dog, but he opened the side gate to allow the dog to charge at them, prosecutors said.
The officers fired at the dog twice to cause it to retreat. The gunfire did not strike the animal or any people, and Sotelo-Lozano was arrested after a struggle, prosecutors said.
East Palo Alto Police Cmdr. Dave Carson said the dog was impounded after the arrest.
Sotelo-Lozano made his initial appearance in court Tuesday to face the assault charges but did not enter a plea and the county's Private Defender Program was assigned to represent him, according to the District Attorney's Office.
He has five prior convictions, including three for robberies, and was on parole at the time of his arrest. He remains in custody on no bail status and is set to return to court next week, prosecutors said.