Parents arrested after child injured by dog

The parents of a 5-year-old girl were facing criminal child endangerment charges after being accused of leaving their daughter in a room alone with a dog.

Police arrested 22-year-old Jazmin Lopez and 31-year-old Anderzel Lopez, both of Desert Hot Springs, on Friday.

Officers were called to Willow Ridge Road in Palm Desert that morning at 10:30. They were responding to a report of an unknown trouble in a room at the Westin Desert Willow Villas.

Officers said they were told a 5-year-old girl had been bitten by a family dog. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said the dog was a pit bull mix.

The child was taken to a hospital and treated for her non life-threatening injuries.

Investigators said they determined the couple had left the girl alone inside of their room with the dog. Both parents were arrested and booked into the Riverside County jail in Indio for felony willful harm to a child.

Medics transferred the child to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. The dog was taken into custody by the Riverside County Animal Services Department.

The couple was released from the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility on $35,000 bail and both are expected in court on October 24 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station at (760) 836-1600.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 is following up with animal control to get more details. We’ll deliver the latest details as soon as they’re available.