An individual from Santa Paula who was caught on surveillance video beating a sick sea lion with a large stick has entered a guilty plea to the felony charges against him and is now facing a maximum sentence of three years in state prison.
On Monday, Christopher Hurtado, who is 32 years old, pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty and one count of drug possession. According to the officials, he abruptly changed his plea prior to the trial.
He also admitted that there were aggravating factors, such as the animal’s vulnerability and the fact that there had been a previous strike.
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko wrote in a press release that was distributed on Tuesday that “Ventura County was outraged by the violence this defendant inflicted on a defenceless animal.” “Our conscience was shocked by the nature of this senseless attack, and it called for aggressive prosecution,” according to the statement.
As she was walking her dog along the Ventura Promenade on March 4, a woman saw a sea lion that was stuck on the rocks near the pier. She immediately called 911 to report the sighting.
The animal was located by the dispatchers with the assistance of surveillance cameras, and they then watched as Hurtado approached and kicked it right in the head. After that, he picked up a piece of driftwood that was four feet long and struck the sea lion at least two more times by using it.
Shortly after that, officers from the Ventura Police Department arrived and arrested Hurtado, who they stated had attempted to flee the scene. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement officers discovered a pocket in his pants that contained 0.06 grammes of methamphetamine.
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The sea lion was eventually taken into care by the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute; however, it was unable to be saved because it had been poisoned by domoic acid, a neurotoxin that is produced by algae blooms and is responsible for the recent increase in the number of marine mammals that have become stranded along the coast of California.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Benjamin, who was in charge of the prosecution of the case, stated that “our office takes acts of cruelty to animals very seriously and we are committed to holding those individuals accountable when animals are unnecessarily harmed.”
The sentence for Hurtado is scheduled to take place on July 14 in the Ventura County Superior Court. He is currently being held in custody on a bail of $25,000.
