Irvine man charged with beating small dog to death in Santa Ana

A 40-year-old man was behind bars Wednesday on charges of beating a service dog to death in a parking lot in Santa Ana for defecating in his car.

Randy Francois of Irvine was charged in September with two felony counts of cruelty to animals, but he failed to appear in court after bonding out of custody and an arrest warrant was issued for the defendant, according to court records.

Francois was arrested Tuesday and appeared in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana on Wednesday when his arraignment was rescheduled for Monday.

Francois is accused of killing the Yorkshire Terrier service dog June 28 in a parking lot in the 1500 block of East 17th St., according to Santa Ana police Sgt. Maria Lopez. He allegedly killed the dog with his bare hands because the canine defecated in his car, Lopez said.