A man was arrested after allegedly killing a woman’s dog in Buckeye.

Buckeye police report Jose Nicholas Vega-Meza, 21, was booked into jail Sunday on charges of animal cruelty, animal killing, and assault.

On Saturday, a female was in the process of moving her belongings from a residence in Buckeye, where Mr. Vega-Meza lived, to a new residence.

While at the first house, the woman said her dog was with her but she lost sight of it for a couple of hours. When she and friends were loading a vehicle, Mr. Vega-Meza tried to quickly put a box inside without their awareness. However, the woman opened the box and found her dog dead and dismembered.

She reported the incident on Sunday because she was too distraught to do so Saturday. Police found Mr. Vega-Meza walking in a neighborhood and arrested him.

Mr. Vega-Meza reportedly admitted to the killing because the victim owed his mother rent money, according to a probable cause statement.

Mr. Vega-Meza acknowledged what he did was wrong. However, he also said he had recently beat up and drowned a cat to death. He also admitted to killing other animals he had found around the neighborhood.

When being booked into jail, Mr. Vega-Meza reportedly assaulted another inmate without provocation.