A 45-year-old Santa Ana, California, man accused of killing dozens of cats after luring them with food has been charged with animal cruelty.
Arraignment for Alejandro Oliveros Acosta was scheduled for Wednesday,but he failed to appear for the hearing, according to the district attorney's office. A $50,000 warrant was issued for his arrest.
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WATCH HEREAcosta was charged Monday with two counts of animal cruelty and a count of grand theft of a pet, all felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of possession of methamphetamine, according to the criminal complaint.
Acosta was arrested last month after police said they received multiple calls over several weeks about pet cats being snatched and harmed in a Santa Ana neighborhood. Investigators searched Acosta's home and found evidence of "dozens" of dead cats, police said.
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SIGN UP In November 2024, Santa Ana Animal Control began receiving reports of injured and dead cats in the Orange County neighborhood. Between November and April, there were seven reports of dead and injured cats, including animals suffering from broken backs and bloody faces.
On April 3, a man who was leaving his home reported seeing his neighbor, later identified as Acosta, lift a cat up over his head and slam it to the ground, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. The man and his wife found the cat dead and called authorities.
Two days later, Animal Control responded to reports of a sick cat who was not moving. Security camera video showed a man taking a cat from the bed of a white Toyota Tacoma pickup and dropping it to the ground, the DA's office said. The man, later identified by authorities as Acosta, appeared to stomp on the cat, prosecutors said.
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He also is suspected of stealing a Bengal Lynx cat, named Clubber, from the a home in Westminster last month, police said. That cat was reported stolen March 19 when security camera video showed a man with what appeared to be a can of food luring the cat, grabbing the animal and driving away in a white Toyota Tacoma, prosecutors said.
Clubber was later returned to his owner.
If convicted, Acosta faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months in prison.
