Do Cops Have Dog's Killer?

Authorities have a suspect in last year's bizarre road rage incident in which a man yanked a woman's dog from her car and tossed it into oncoming traffic, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney Al Weger said he could not release any information about the suspect, but said he hoped the case could be resolved -- and charges possibly filed by next week.

The San Jose Mercury News reported Thursday that the suspect is in Santa Clara County Jail on unrelated charges, and that police found him through an anonymous e-mail.

San Jose Police spokesman Rubens Dalaison dismissed that report in the Mercury News, saying authorities did not have a prime suspect and that authorities were no closer to solving the case.

Dalaison and Weger said the suspect was one of several people who came under suspicion shortly after the Feb. 11, 2000, incident in which a 10-year-old bichon frise named Leo was grabbed from the lap of owner Sara McBurnett. It happened after McBurnett's car bumped another motorist's vehicle.

Dalaison said McBurnett failed to pick the man in two earlier photo lineups, and police are no closer to solving the case "unless there's some incredible information that comes out of this individual that's in custody."

Weger said he could not comment on the photo lineups.

McBurnett created a Web site dedicated to finding Leo's killer, on the anniversary of the attack.

On it, she answered criticism that the story had been overblown by media and by the reward fund, which is larger than those often generated in cases involving human crime victims.

"A peculiar controversy has developed over the value we, as a society, place on the life of a pet," said McBurnett. "For some reason, many felt that Leo's tragedy somehow invalidated the tragedy some parents suffer in the loss of children. I find it peculiar that some people feel justified in questioning other's affairs of the heart."

She argues that "where we choose to channel our feelings of compassion, charity and love is entirely up to us as individuals...On the other hand, where people choose to channel their hate in the form of violence is everyone's problem."

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