Animal cruelty charges probed

The city has placed two of its three animal control employees on paid administrative leave after an investigation into charges of animal cruelty, said City Manager Jim Hart.

Neither the city nor local law enforcement would elaborate on the accusations. However, the Daily Press of Victorville quoted unnamed sources Thursday as saying some city employees had repeatedly put kittens and injured animals in cages and drowned them.

One employee was put on leave Wednesday and the other on Thursday. Hart said it was standard practice to put employees on leave when they are being investigated.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire said the Adelanto station had conducted the investigation and turned over its findings to the district attorney’s office for possible charges.

So far no arrests have been made. The high desert city has hired an outside public relations company to help handle the situation.

“Adelanto does not condone violence against animals as a matter of policy but moreover as a matter or moral decency,” Hart said in a statement.

-- David Kelly