Police make arrest in abandoned dog case

An Amelia man has been arrested after police identified him as the man who abandoned two small dogs in the Brashear Avenue area.

Tom Nguyen, 66, Lake Palourde Road, was arrested at 12:02 p.m. Monday on two counts of cruelty to animals, Morgan City police said.

City police were called about the abandoned dogs in late August.

Morgan City Animal Control and officers arrived, and the dogs were taken to a safe location.

Video from nearby businesses showed a person pull up behind a business and drop off the dogs with no care. The video appears to show the two small dogs running after the vehicle as it drove away.

The Morgan City Police Department Detectives Division took over the investigation when the video was posted to the department Facebook Page asking for help in identifying the individual involved.

Over the weekend, information was developed of a potential suspect that lived in the Amelia area. With this information, investigators were able to locate and identify Nguyen, Morgan City police said.

Reports indicate that Nguyen admitted to abandoning the two animals and identified himself in the video, police said.

A warrant was prepared to Nguyen's arrest. Nguyen was booked into the Morgan City Jail and incarcerated.

Chief Chad M. Adams and the Morgan City Police Department thanked community partners "helped spread the information which ultimately led to an arrest in this investigation."