Man accused of killing dog during grooming appointment found guilty

UPDATE (8/28/24) — A man accused of killing a dog during a grooming appointment was found guilty in a jury trial.

Diego Jaimes Angel pleaded not guilty last November. He was accused of strangling and killing a dog named Atlas while he worked at Doggy Doodles Grooming near 81st and Harvard.

His jury trial started Monday. It lasted three days and he was found guilty Wednesday. The jury recommended a sentence of four years in prison.

His sentencing is set for October 14.

Rebecca Rutherford , the owner of the dog grooming business, is set for a jury trial in 2025.

FOX23 will follow this for updates.

TULSA, Okla. — A man accused of killing a dog during a grooming appointment pleaded not guilty at his arraignment at the Tulsa County Courthouse on Monday.

FOX23 attended the arraignment for Diego Angel, whose lawyer said they're not talking.

FOX23 told you back in September that according to Tulsa Police, while Angel worked at Doggy Doodles Grooming near 81st and Harvard, he strangled and hit a dog named Atlas, who ended up dying.

An advocacy group for the dog who died, "Justice for Atlas," was also in attendance.

An advocate said they were there to be Atlas's voice.

"I've never even met Atlas," an advocate said. "I texted his dad, and my heart hurts for them."

Last Thursday, a judge issued a warrant for one of the owners of Doggy Doodles, Rebecca Rutherford. She's charged with accessory to a felony and obstructing an officer.

Rutherford bonded out of the Tulsa County Jail.

FOX23 spoke with Rutherford at Doggy Doodles on Monday, asking if she had anything to say.

"I'm gonna do a 'no comment,'" she said.

Despite that, Rutherford continued on to say as far as the charges against her, she wasn't involved and she didn't do it.

"They shouldn't even be open," an advocate said. "They all watched it happen and they're still grooming dogs? That's insane. That's insane."

"It's sad," an advocate with a doodle service dog said. "That dog was innocent. A doodle just like this doodle."

An advocate said justice for Atlas looks like all of them being in prison for murdering an innocent dog.

The next date for this case is Feb. 5 for the Allen Discovery hearing at the Tulsa County Courthouse.