Prescott Valley Man Stabs Guinea Pig to Death After Fight With Girlfriend; Calls Police on Self Saying He Stabbed “Someone”

A Prescott Valley man was arrested on Monday after stabbing a guinea pig to death following a fight with his girlfriend.

He probably would have gotten away with it, too, had he not called the police on himself to report that he’d stabbed “someone.”

According to the Prescott Valley Police Department, emergency dispatchers received a call from 29-year-old Richard J. Copetillo at about 10:45 p.m. Monday night.

Copetillo told dispatchers that there had been a fight and he needed assistance. He then told dispatchers that he’d stabbed “someone.”

When officers arrived on scene and made contact with Copetillo, he became verbally abusive — swearing and refusing to follow their orders.

Officers eventually subdued Copetillo and placed him in custody.

While searching Copetillo’s residence, officers found a bloody knife next to a guinea pig that had apparently been stabbed to death.

Officers say Copetillo admitted to stabbing the rodent after a fight with his girlfriend.

Copetillo was in the process of throwing his girlfriend’s stuff out of his house when she showed up with two friends, cops say. A scuffle broke out, reportedly prompting Coptetillo to call police — on himself — and murder the guinea pig.

Copetillo was arrested and booked into the Yavapai County Jail in Camp Verde for disorderly conduct/domestic violence, false reporting, and cruelty to animals.