Animal-tossing video brings cruelty charges

An animal rights organization is urging the Orange County district attorney’s office to “vigorously” prosecute a man who took a video of himself abusing rabbits and a dog, then posted it on MySpace, calling his behavior “extremely severe.”

Joseph Anthony Deiss, 19, of Yorba Linda was charged last week with three counts of animal cruelty and three charges of animal abuse by a caretaker after allegedly throwing a pug and two rabbits 15 to 30 feet in the air and allowing them to hit the ground. The video was allegedly shot in Deiss’ backyard in June 2007.

“They were a little dazed and confused, but it does not appear that any of the pets died as a result of this incident,” said Farrah Emami, a district attorney’s office spokeswoman, referring to the video.

The Norfolk, Va.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals showed the video to authorities after discovering it last month, prompting investigations by Anaheim police and the district attorney’s office.

“We want this to be vigorously prosecuted,” said Kristin DeJournett, a cruelty caseworker with PETA. “The actions depicted in the video are depraved and sadistic.”

On Wednesday, DeJournett faxed Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas a letter urging aggressive prosecution and asking that Deiss, if convicted, be barred from possessing animals for life.

Reached by phone late Wednesday, Deiss, a part-time college student, apologized for throwing the rabbits, which he said he had bought as food for his two red-tailed boa constrictors, and the pug, which he said he had given to a family.

“I just posted it and kind of forgot about it. I didn’t even realize that anyone was watching,” he said of the video, which he removed from his MySpace page last month.

“It wasn’t meant to be intentionally cruel,” he said. “I can see that it was somewhat bad, but nothing got hurt. . . . People feed their snakes all the time.”

Emami of the district attorney’s office said the charges were being taken very seriously and expressed appreciation for the tip from PETA.

“These types of cases are very sensitive because animals are helpless,” she said.

Though Deiss has not yet been arrested, it is not unusual for defendants in misdemeanor cases to be taken into custody after charges are filed, Emami said.

Deiss’ MySpace profile offered some clues about his changing state of mind.

Early Wednesday it read: “Jo ‘E’ is happy that he’s not going to prison!!!”

Late Wednesday, he changed the post to “Joe ‘E’ is bummed that he still migh go to prison.”

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tony.barboza@latimes.com