San Mateo Grand jury indicts accused dog killer

By Michelle Durand


A grand jury indicted a Burlingame man on felony animal cruelty charges for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s miniature pinscher, Godiva, and hiding the body on the street.

The District Attorney’s Office opted for an indictment over the more common preliminary hearing for Ryan Reeser to push the case into Superior Court more quickly, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Reeser, 27, appeared in court yesterday but over prosecutors’ objections delayed a plea three weeks while his family secures his current defense attorney for trial.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, on Nov. 20, Reeser’s then-girlfriend brought the dog to his home on El Camino Real where they often stayed. The woman left for a time and, upon returning, couldn’t find Godiva. Reeser reportedly said the dog ran away but the woman saw blood on a washing machine and socks. The woman called her father who confronted Reeser and later found Godiva dead in her bed on the street.

A necropsy showed the dog sustained multiple hits and died from multiple rib and skull fractures and hematomas. The animal’s eye was also reportedly dislodged.

The Peninsula Humane Society turned the case over to the District Attorney’s Office which decided to file the charges Dec. 11 after further investigation.

Reeser reportedly claimed he punched the 6-year-old dog once after the animal nipped him. At his first court appearance, Reeser submitted photos of the bites to his hand and a judge dropped his $200,000 bail down to $100,000.

Reeser previously pleaded not guilty in a lower court but the hearing to decide if he’d stand trial was postponed multiple times. Rather than wait, the District Attorney’s Office took the case to the confidential grand jury last week and on Friday it issued an indictment on the charges of felony animal cruelty and misdemeanor destruction of evidence.

If tried and convicted, Reeser faces up to three years in prison.

Reeser is free from custody.

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