SF cops ID suspect in fatal dog attack s.f. crime

Laurice Barrett allegedly threw the small dog to the ground. Laurice Barrett allegedly threw the small dog to the ground. Photo: Courtesy, San Francisco Police Department Photo: Courtesy, San Francisco Police Department Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close SF cops ID suspect in fatal dog attack 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

(01-15) 17:06 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco police have identified a suspect in a December incident in which a woman was robbed and her Pekingese mix was thrown to the ground, leading to the dog's death.

Police say Laurice Barrett, 35, is the man shown in surveillance video running away after the attack, which occurred Dec. 28 on Leavenworth Street near McAllister Street in the Tenderloin.

The assailant approached the woman around 5 p.m. as she walked around the front of her parked car to look for her cell phone under the passenger seat, the woman said in an interview. He grabbed her and yelled at her to give him her money, she said.

When her 12-year-old Pekingese mix, Roxy, began barking at him, the attacker grabbed the dog, threw her into the street and ran, police said. Roxy was taken to a veterinary hospital, where she had to be euthanized.

Police released a video Jan. 2 showing the suspect running down the street, which produced a tip leading to Barrett, said police spokesman Officer Carlos Manfredi.

Police have arrested Barrett within the past couple of years and have a mug shot of him, Manfredi said. The victim, a 30-year-old San Francisco woman, identified the photo as that of her attacker, Manfredi said.

A warrant is out for Barrett's arrest, and he faces felony charges of animal cruelty and robbery, Manfredi said.

Manfredi would not say why San Francisco police arrested Barrett earlier. In San Mateo County, prosecutor Karen Guidotti said Barrett had been arrested on the Peninsula on suspicion of domestic violence, battery and false imprisonment in August 2008, but those charges had been dropped.

The mugging victim said she was "really grateful that someone has come forward to give his name."

"I have mixed feelings," said the woman, who asked that her name not be used because of safety concerns. "I am happy and I hope someone will turn him in. I'm also feeling kind of uncomfortable about it, I guess because I'm afraid about him getting caught and then going to trial, and me having to be in the same room as him.

"But at the end of the day I am fighting for Roxy," she said. "I'm her voice, I'm her mom. I want justice."

Manfredi said Barrett frequents San Francisco, though he did not know if he was a San Francisco resident. Anyone with information on Barrett's whereabouts is asked to call the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a text message that mentions "SFPD" to TIP411.