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Case #3451 Rating: 3.3 out of 5
Pit-bull puppy beaten to death
San Bernardino, CA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Dec 25, 2004
County: San Bernardino
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Robert A. Espinoza
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
At least three children watched as a 30-year-old man allegedly beat a pit bull puppy to death during a drunken family quarrel in an apartment Christmas night, a police sergeant said.
The suspect Robert A. Espinoza remained at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on Monday. Bail was set at $100,000. He was arrested on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child and animal cruelty after a holiday spat at Ridgeline Apartments on College Avenue.
Espinoza, who police suspect had been drinking, became upset with family members at some point during the night, Sgt. Craig Keith said.
"Rather than strike out at them, he struck out at the dog,' he said.
Espinoza threw the family's pit bull puppy around in front of his 10-year-old and 7-year-old sons and a 12-year-old niece, who attempted to help the injured dog during the beating, Keith said.
Police arrived at 9:25 p.m. after a family member reported the domestic altercation, but by then, the puppy, which was about 2 months old, was already dead.
Espinoza was arrested for willful cruelty to a child because of the emotional trauma the children suffered while watching him beat the helpless puppy to death, Keith said.
Inflicting emotional injury on a child is a misdemeanor under the California Penal Code and could lead to a sentence of up to six months, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Dwight Moore said.
Animal cruelty can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or as a felony depending on the extent of the abuse or the defendant's criminal history. As a felony, it could lead to a six-year prison sentence. As a lesser charge, the crime is punishable by up to a year in county jail.
To contact the prosecuting attorney in this case, write to:
Mike O'Connell, Deputy District Attorney
Office of the San Bernardino County District Attorney
316 N. Mountain View Ave.
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Case UpdatesEspinoza was sentenced Monday (jan 10) in San Bernardino Superior Court to two years in state prison for the Christmas night beating death of his family's pit bull puppy in front of his two young sons and niece.
He pleaded guilty before Judge John Pacheco to one felony count of animal cruelty. He will serve about one year before he is eligible for parole, said Deputy District Attorney Nicole Quintana.
Espinoza, who reportedly had been drinking the night of the incident, threw the 2 1/2-month old puppy repeatedly against the wall of his family's College Avenue apartment and beat it with an aluminum crutch until it died. He did it in front of his 10- and 7-year-old sons and his 12-year-old niece, who pleaded with him to stop and were in tears by the time police arrived, authorities said.
At one point, Espinoza's niece had grabbed the puppy and tried to save it, but Espinoza snatched it from her hands.
Espinoza told police his family faced eviction from the Ridgeline Park Apartments if it kept the dog, prosecutors said.
"Here it was obviously a unique case because the violence was committed in the presence of the children,' Quintana said following Monday's hearing.
A preliminary hearing originally scheduled for Espinoza on Monday was nullified by his plea bargain. County prosecutors agreed to withdraw three felony counts of child abuse filed against Espinoza in exchange for his guilty plea to animal cruelty and mandatory prison time. | Source: San Bernadino Sun - Jan 10, 2005
Update posted on Jan 23, 2005 - 2:55AM |
References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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