OUTRAGE As California Judge Let's Dog Kicking Neighbor Off Easy, Poor Pup Suffered Severe Injuried

PITTSBURG, Calif. – A California mother and her daughter who were caught on video deliberately kicking a neighbor’s tiny senior Chihuahua so hard it flew through the air and suffered life-threatening injuries have walked away with little more than probation and community service hours, hours they must now serve at an animal shelter.

In a surveillance video from February 19, 2025, Lagashia Williams, then 46, can be seen confronting homeowner Albert Lopes outside his Pittsburg home during a heated neighbor dispute. Williams brandished what turned out to be an imitation firearm and then ordered her 18-year-old daughter, Graciela Amar, to kick Lopes’ 2.8-pound senior Chihuahua named Gigi.

Amar obeyed. The force of the kick launched the fragile dog into the air. Gigi landed hard, suffering severe liver damage and leg injuries. Lopes, who was washing his truck at the time, scooped up the yelping dog and retreated inside as the women continued the confrontation.

Williams later filed a false police report claiming Lopes had a gun. Both women were eventually charged with felony animal cruelty, brandishing an imitation firearm, and making a false report to police. The video of the attack went viral, sparking widespread outrage.

But in a classic California soft-on-crime outcome, prosecutors and a judge eventually downgraded the felony charges to misdemeanors. Amar received suspended probation and just 100 hours of community service. In May 2026, Williams pleaded no contest to misdemeanor animal cruelty and was sentenced to one year of probation plus 120 hours of community service.

Here’s the kicker that has animal lovers and law-and-order advocates seething: both women were ordered to complete their community service hours at an animal shelter.“Would you want either of these women around animals at a shelter?” asked one online commentator sharing the latest court update. “The judge let them off easy and then sentenced the animals at the shelter.”

Critics say the light sentences send a dangerous message. A mother directing her teenage daughter to attack a helpless 2.8-pound senior dog, then lying to police about it, results in probation and forced time near more vulnerable animals. No jail time. No meaningful accountability.

Lopes has previously said Gigi was recovering after the brutal kick, but the physical and emotional toll on the elderly dog remains. The video evidence is clear, the injuries documented, and the false police report established, yet the justice system in Contra Costa County delivered what many are calling a slap on the wrist.

This case joins a growing list of California animal cruelty and violent incidents where progressive prosecutors and judges appear more focused on reducing charges than protecting victims, human or animal. Taxpayers and pet owners are left wondering how many more small dogs have to be kicked into the air before the system starts treating animal abuse like the serious crime it is.