COPS: Woman burned family dog alive

Maricopa Police Department arrested a woman accused of burning the family dog alive in a firepit, killing her Thursday afternoon. 

Police arrested 39-year-old Ambria R. Garcia after she admitted to pouring gasoline on her dog and setting her on fire, according to a probable cause statement obtained by InMaricopa. 

Cops responded to a home on West Rhinestone Road in Cobblestone Farms on a report of animal cruelty. Garcia’s husband told dispatch he watched his wife put the live Shih Tzu in a firepit and light her on fire through security cameras. 

Officers found Garcia on the roadside nearby. She admitted to killing the dog. 

Garcia told police the five-year-old Shih Tzu named Missy was a “possessed rat” that bit her and her children in the past. Garcia said she wanted to prevent Missy from hurting anyone else, and “needed to handle this problem as soon as possible.” 

Garcia believed she released a demon from the dog while burning her, according to the police report. 

Officers found a red gasoline container near the firepit and a “charred Shih Tzu” inside. 

Garcia’s husband said he witnessed his wife light the live dog on fire, dance around and laugh, through a security camera. He provided officers with the video footage. 

Garcia was booked into the Pinal County jail on one felony count of animal cruelty. 

She faces more than three years in prison. 

Read more public safety stories here.