Man faces trial for killing Chihuahua

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RIVERSIDE, Calif., June 21 (UPI) -- A judge has ordered a Southern California man to stand trial for allegedly killing a neighbor's Chihuahua with a golf club.

Larry Edward Jaurequi, 58, of Menifee, could be sentenced to as much as four years in prison if he is convicted of animal cruelty and a weapons charge, the Los Angeles Times reported. A judge in Riverside County said Wednesday afternoon there is enough evidence to go to trial.

Jaurequi was arrested in January after witnesses called police and said he attacked his neighbor's dogs after they got loose. In a news release, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said Jaurequi was described as swinging "the club against the Chihuahua as if driving a golf ball off its tee."

He was stopped from going after another dog. The Chihuahua, named Lily, suffered injuries to the head and liver and a broken leg and died the next day.

Jaurequi is scheduled to be arraigned July 18.