Hahn Nguyen

Introduction

Hahn Nguyen, a 75-year-old woman from Anaheim, California, was arrested on October 1, 2026, by Santa Ana police and booked at the Santa Ana Jail on animal cruelty and animal abandonment charges, after surveillance video allegedly showed her luring her own nine-month-old pit bull under her minivan with food and running over it in a Santa Ana street. The case drew wide attention after police released the footage publicly while still searching for the unidentified driver; detectives said they found Nguyen using automated license plate reader technology, and discovered the minivan from the video parked inside her garage. She is not described in the reporting as having commented publicly.

Background Information

Little about Nguyen is in the public record beyond what police and news reporting describe: a 75-year-old Anaheim resident and, per authorities, the owner of a nine-month-old black-and-white male pit bull mix named Blackey. Animal services had responded on the morning of September 8, 2026, to the 900 block of West Park Lane in Santa Ana after a local resident spotted the puppy’s body in the street and told police he suspected the animal had been intentionally killed. The incident location was reported as near 926 W. Park Lane, at about 9 a.m.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not adjudicated. Nguyen has been arrested and booked on animal cruelty and animal abandonment charges after police said home surveillance footage captured the incident. The account below comes from police statements and video described in news reporting; the allegations are unproven, nothing has been adjudicated, and Nguyen is presumed innocent. The reporting describes no public statement from Nguyen or any attorney for her.

According to the Santa Ana Police Department, the episode unfolded at about 9 a.m. on September 8 near 926 W. Park Lane. Detectives say home surveillance footage shows a woman arriving in an older-model Honda Odyssey, unloading the puppy and setting food under the driver’s side of the minivan; as the puppy ate, the woman allegedly moved the vehicle so the rear driver’s-side tire rolled over the animal, then kept the car parked on top of the puppy for roughly 15 seconds before driving away.

On September 30, police publicly released the footage and asked for the public’s help identifying the driver. The New York Post reported at the time that a puppy had allegedly been “lured into the path of a minivan with food” before the vehicle was used to run over the animal, with investigators still searching for the woman behind the wheel.

The break came the next morning. “Investigative leads, primarily using ALPR technology, helped detectives identify the vehicle, locate the suspect, and bring accountability for what happened to Blackey,” the department said in a statement, describing how automated license plate reader technology led detectives to Nguyen’s Anaheim home. When investigators tracked her down, police said, the 75-year-old admitted to owning and abandoning the dog, and her Honda Odyssey was located inside her garage.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The surveillance footage circulated widely and with visible revulsion once police posted it; the New York Post’s follow-up headline branded the driver an accused “puppy crusher.” After the arrest, Metro quoted the reaction under its report: “That is awful. How can anybody do something like that to a little puppy, to any type of little animal? That’s horrific,” one person wrote, while another said it was “beyond scope how anyone can be that sick and cruel to that poor innocent little puppy.” The story traveled well beyond Southern California, picked up by outlets in Los Angeles, New York and the UK within a day of the video’s release, and the identification of a named suspect converted a weekslong public manhunt into a criminal case overnight.

Current Status

Nguyen was taken into custody on the morning of Thursday, October 1, 2026, and booked at the Santa Ana Jail on charges under Penal Code sections 597(a), animal cruelty, and 597s(a), animal abandonment. NBC Los Angeles, citing the department, described both as misdemeanor charges carrying up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, as well as possible restrictions on owning animals in the future; Metro’s report framed the potential exposure as a felony conviction carrying up to three years in prison and $20,000 in fines. The reporting describes no arraignment, plea or attorney, and the charges remain unadjudicated.

Impact on Their Career/Life

At 75, Nguyen now has her name attached to one of the most widely shared animal-cruelty cases of the year: the footage police released remains online, her arrest and booking are matters of public record, and coverage on two continents identifies her as the woman in the video. Beyond the criminal charges and the potential jail time and fines described in reporting, a conviction could bar her from owning animals in the future. Until the case is resolved, the allegations themselves — a puppy lured with food and run over by its own owner — are what her name is now publicly tied to.

Sources

• The New York Post, “Anaheim woman arrested after puppy intentionally run over in Santa Ana,” October 1, 2026. source
• The New York Post, “Santa Ana woman lures pit bull with food then runs it over, video shows,” October 1, 2026. source
• NBC Los Angeles, “Woman arrested for ‘intentionally’ running over a puppy in OC,” October 2026. source
• Metro UK, “Woman, 75, who ‘intentionally’ ran over puppy arrested,” October 1, 2026. source