DEAR PROBE

Q

Really, are you kidding me? Imperial Police Department didn’t charge Jonathan Torres (suspected of shooting his dog) with any firearm offenses? When did it become legal to discharge a firearm in city limits, inside a dwelling? This is absurd. People like Mr. Torres shouldn’t own firearms or animals. — #justiceforclark

A

You are quite correct. It is most definitely illegal to discharge a firearm within Imperial city limits. City Public Information Officer Alexis Chalupnik tells us, “In accordance with the California State Penal Code, Title 8, Section 9, No. 246 and Imperial Municipal Code Chapter 15, Article 3, No. 15-7 (Ord 389), ‘It shall be unlawful for any person to shoot, fire off or discharge any firearm, pellet gun, BB gun or bow and arrow within the city without having first secured a permit in writing from the chief of police to do so.’”

The suspect did not have any such permit, Chalupnik confirmed. As reported in Saturday’s, Imperial Valley Press, a criminal complaint and charges have been filed against Torres.

The case was approved by the DA’s office on Wednesday and formally filed by the Imperial Police Department on Thursday. Torres was charged with illegal discharge of a firearm, which is prohibited under both state law and local ordinance.

He was also charged with malicious mischief under Section 597(a) of the California Penal Code.

The violation applies to a person who “maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and intentionally kills an animal.” Both are felony charges.

As for whether Torres should own firearms or dogs in the future, we’re going to leave it up to the courts to decide whether he is convicted before we offer any opinions on that.