The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrests of three people after puppies were shot and killed. SCSO reports that it received information indicating that four, five-month-old German Shepherd puppies had been fatally shot on October 3, 2024.

Police say the puppies were discarded along the roadside in the area of Old Oregon Trail and Enterprise Dump Road. Shasta County Animal Regulation Officers initiated an investigation into the discovery.

Authorities say they had similar contacts with individuals residing off Airport Road in Shasta County. SCSO alleges the puppies had belonged to residents at a property in the 8000 block of Airport Road.

Police have identified the property owners as 55-year-old James Wolf and 50-year-old Teresa Crandell. SCSO alleges that Wolf and Crandell reported that the puppies belonged to a tenant who had been incarcerated recently.

They allegedly enlisted a neighbor, 24-year-old Kenneth Beaulieu, to shoot and kill the puppies because they did not want to care for them. Police say Beaulieu was contacted at a separate residence and admitted to killing the puppies.

Authorities also say he claimed he and Wolf dumped the puppies along the roadside where they were found. On October 25, 2024, SCSO deputies carried out felony arrest warrants on Wolf, Crandell, and Beaulieu.

Beaulieu was booked into the Shasta County Jail for Animal Cruelty, Disposal of a Dead Animal Carcass Near a Roadway, and Conspiracy. Wolf and Crandell were booked on a charge of Conspiracy.