Federal prosecutors charged Hanh Minh Nguyen with animal crushing in the Santa Ana puppy case.

The federal count is a criminal complaint for animal crushing, and the Orange County counts are felony accusations. Neither is a conviction, and she has not been sentenced in either court. The District Attorney's release says the puppy was 9 weeks old and that she was arrested Thursday, Oct. 2. CBS Los Angeles says the puppy was about 9 months old and that she was arrested Oct. 1. Those ages are not the same age, and those dates are not the same date.

CBS Los Angeles, in a story by Julie Sharp published Oct. 30, 2026, at 12:08 p.m. PDT, reported that Hanh Minh Nguyen, 75, of Anaheim, was federally charged with animal crushing after the Department of Justice said she allegedly ran over and killed her puppy. CBS Los Angeles reported the federal count is a felony with a statutory maximum of seven years, charged under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which it said was signed in 2019. City News Service, in copy KFI published the same day, reported she was charged Thursday with animal crushing and that the maximum is seven years in federal prison. Thursday before Friday, Oct. 30, is Oct. 29. CBS Los Angeles did not print Thursday or Oct. 29. Both reported she is expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana in the coming weeks. Both quoted First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli: "Luring a defenseless puppy with food only to crush him beneath a vehicle is an act of appalling cruelty." A statutory maximum is not a sentence. A charge is not a conviction.

CBS Los Angeles reported she was already facing felony counts of animal cruelty and animal abuse, and a felony enhancement for personal use of a weapon, a vehicle, to kill the animal. The Orange County District Attorney's release said Hanh Minh Nguyen, 75, of Anaheim, was charged with one felony count of animal cruelty, one felony count of animal abuse by a caretaker, and one felony enhancement for personal use of a weapon, a vehicle, to kill the animal. It said she posted $20,000 bail and is scheduled at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on Nov. 2, 2026, in Department C55. It named Deputy District Attorney Danica Drotman of the Animal Cruelty Unit. NBC Los Angeles, in an Oct. 2, 2026, story, reported two felony counts of cruelty to animals and an enhancement for personal use of a deadly weapon, the same bail, and an arraignment set for Nov. 2. One count of animal cruelty plus one count of animal abuse by a caretaker, which the District Attorney printed, and two felony counts of cruelty to animals, which NBC Los Angeles printed, are not the same count names. NBC Los Angeles spelled her Hahn Nguyen. CBS Los Angeles, City News Service, and the District Attorney spelled her Hanh Minh Nguyen. Hahn and Hanh Minh are not the same name. NBC Los Angeles reported on Oct. 1 that she was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty and abandonment under Penal Code sections 597(a) and 597s(a), which that story called misdemeanors carrying up to six months and a $1,000 fine. Misdemeanor booking sections and the later felony complaint are not the same charging document.

CBS Los Angeles reported that on Sept. 8, Santa Ana Animal Services responded to 900 West Park Lane, where a witness said the driver of a minivan appeared to intentionally run over a dog, and that officers found an approximately 9-month-old black-and-white pit bull mix dead. It quoted Officer Natalie Garcia: "It appeared to be very much run over." It reported surveillance of an older-model Honda Odyssey, that she was arrested the following morning, Oct. 1, and that police said she admitted owning and abandoning her 9-month-old pit bull, Blackey. It reported an autopsy found a crushed skull and complete brain damage. The District Attorney's release said the puppy was 9 weeks old, printed "pit bill mix," and said officers responded at approximately 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 8 to a dead black-and-white male puppy whose head had been crushed, with dog food on the street. Nine months and 9 weeks are not the same age. Pit bull, which CBS Los Angeles printed, and pit bill, which the District Attorney's release printed, are not the same word. The release said she was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2026, after detectives used a license-plate reader to identify a green Honda Odyssey. Oct. 1, which CBS Los Angeles printed, and Thursday, Oct. 2, which the release printed, are not the same date. Oct. 1, 2026, was a Thursday. NBC Los Angeles reported the arrest in a story published Oct. 1 and, the next day, said she had been arrested Thursday. A green Odyssey, which the District Attorney printed, and an older blue or green Odyssey with a roof rack, which NBC Los Angeles printed, are not the same color description.

The District Attorney's release said surveillance showed a woman take the puppy from a minivan, place it under the vehicle, put dog food near the driver's door, and slowly drive forward as the puppy approached the food, crushing the puppy's head with the rear tire before driving away. City News Service, describing the affidavit filed with the federal complaint, reported a video of a woman in a Honda Odyssey opening a door and releasing the puppy, that the animal then moved under the minivan, and that the driver later dropped what appeared to be food near the driver's door and motioned with her hand. It reported the puppy was run over by the rear driver's-side tire and that the vehicle stayed stopped on the puppy for approximately 15 seconds. Placing the puppy under the van, which the District Attorney's release said the video showed, and releasing the puppy so that it moved under the van, which the affidavit account said, are not the same sequence. NBC Los Angeles also reported a stop of about 15 seconds and that the driver left north on Lowell Street. The District Attorney quoted Todd Spitzer: "This act of violence not only ended the life of an innocent puppy, but it also inflicted trauma on every single person who came across the video footage of the murder of an animal." The federal initial appearance, which CBS Los Angeles and City News Service put in the coming weeks, and the state date of Nov. 2 in Department C55 are not the same hearing. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.