Palmhurst man charged with animal cruelty for ‘curb stomping’ cat

Alec Omar Espericueta

A 20-year-old Palmhurst man was arrested Thursday outside a Tru-Fit Gym in Mission after admitting to smashing a cat with a rock before “curb stomping” it, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Alec Omar Espericueta was charged with animal cruelty for allegedly killing a stray cat by slamming the cat on the ground multiple times, striking the cat on the head with a rock and stomping on the cat’s head with his foot.

At 11:28 a.m. on Thursday, a Mission police officer was dispatched to 1718 E. Griffin Parkway in reference to an animal cruelty case.

The officer made contact with a witness who stated over the phone that she saw a man on the east side of the gym parking lot holding what she initially thought was a car mat, according to the affidavit.

She then noticed that he was holding an animal but wasn’t sure if it was a cat or dog.

“The male then began slamming the animal on the ground and then proceeded to hit it with a rock,” the affidavit said. “The male then placed the animal on the edge of the cement curb and began stomping on it.”

That’s when the witness called the police.

They were also able to provide police with the make and model of the vehicle he was driving, a black Toyota Tacoma, along with the license plate number and stated that the man went inside the gym.

The officer was able to locate the gray cat on the east side of the parking lot and later observed the suspect vehicle leaving the area, so they conducted a traffic stop on the Tacoma, according to the affidavit.

Espericueta was identified as the driver.

He explained to the officer that he had picked up the cat from his neighborhood with a trap, which he placed in the bed of his truck, and drove to the gym.

The affidavit goes on to say that Espericueta told the officer that after arriving at the gym, he looked at the cat and noticed it was seizing and foaming at the mouth, stating that it “looked like the cat was dying,” so he pulled it out of the cage and attempted to locate a pulse but was unable to.

“Mr. Espericueta then got upset and began slamming the cat on the ground multiple times,” the affidavit said. “Mr. Espericueta then grabbed a rock and smashed the cat in the head with the rock.”

After that, Espericueta placed the cat on the curb and stomped on its head and neck, leaving the lifeless cat and entering the gym.

He was then placed under arrest.

The witness stated she saw Espericueta slamming the cat multiple times, striking it with the rock and stomping on the cat’s head. She was also able to provide a partial video of the incident where Espericueta can be seen striking the cat with his foot multiple times.

Espericueta was released the same day on a $100,000 bond, jail records show.

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