Amy Ramirez recalls hearing the news that her neighbor, Joseph Adam Ortiz, allegedly killed his pet Chihuahua by slashing its throat, "(His grandfather said) there was blood everywhere," Ramirez said.
"And Joseph had cut the dog from (the top of its chest to its stomach) and cut its head off."
Primera Police arrested Ortiz and charged him with animal cruelty.
Ramirez and her children are in disbelief that the teen they describe as, "a good kid," may have been capable of something so brutal.
However, Ramirez said, "He’s been acting kind of strange the last week or so."
Ramirez said she and her children often played basketball with Ortiz in the neighborhood.
Her daughter, Keyla Robles, said it was during one of those recent ball games that she noticed something strange.
"He just disappeared and then he took a broom and started sweeping up and down the road," Robles said. "I (asked) Joseph what (he) was doing and he said, 'I’m sweeping the road.'"
Robles said Ortiz kept sweeping, instead of playing basketball, and didn't stop until he allegedly swept both sides of the road.
Robles also said she had even seen Ortiz print images of Satan from a school computer.
She said Ortiz reportedly had also written the word "Satan" on his room walls.
Primera Police Chief Joe Rodriguez said they are still investigating the possibility of this being a case of satanic rituals. Police are also still awaiting autopsy results for the dog, which Ramirez said was named Rosie.
"He would walk the dog and you could see him sometimes out here walking the dog and everything," Ramirez said.
"That's why I’m saying it's just crazy." Ramirez and her children said they believe Ortiz needs to be in a mental health institution and not behind bars.
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