MESA, Ariz. — >>WARNING: The following story contains graphic details involving animal cruelty. Viewer discretion is advised.
Mesa police have arrested a woman on suspicion of animal cruelty after investigators reviewed a journal where the suspect allegedly described torturing and killing multiple dogs.
Brook Scalero, 42, was arrested on Nov. 18 after police connected her to the deaths of at least three dogs within the last few months.
Scalero's former roommate had a dog named Gus that died allegedly while under the care of Scalero, police said. After the suspect left the roommate's residence, the roommate found a journal that included an entry about Gus' death.
The journal also included other entries detailing the torture and deaths of two other dogs named Pepe and Griffin. The journal's author described choking the dogs and leaving them in a hot car for hours.
Scalero allegedly told Mesa police the journal belonged to her and she wrote the entries. The suspect further admitted to letting Pepe and Griffin overheat inside a vehicle and then disposing of them near a dumpster or behind a bush, police records show.
Police said a person located Pepe's remains near a bush along 8th Avenue on Nov. 15. Griffin's remains were taken to a local animal hospital last month.
The suspect is facing criminal charges of animal cruelty and theft.
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
