Costa Mesa man who stabbed dog pleads guilty to animal cruelty, endangering children
A man who faced animal cruelty and child abuse charges after stabbing a dog to death at a Costa Mesa residence in May pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced to four years probation, court records indicate.
Hector Alfonso Perezrodriguez, 34, of Costa Mesa, was arrested following the May 13 incident, which took place at a home on the 700 block of Shalimar Drive, according to police.
In a May 17 criminal complaint, prosecutors with Orange County district attorney’s office alleged the Costa Mesa man “did maliciously, intentionally and unlawfully maim, mutilate, torture, wound and kill a dog.”
The complaint also maintained he caused and permitted two unidentified children to suffer and inflicted unjustified physical pain and mental suffering on the minors. Court documentation does not indicate whether the animal cruelty and child abuse charges are related to one another or stem from separate events that occurred on the property.
Perezrodriguez faced an additional felony enhancement that stood to add one year onto any sentence delivered for employing the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of the crime, according to county court records.
Appearing in a Santa Ana courtroom days after the incident, the suspect initially pleaded not guilty to one felony count of animal cruelty and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse and endangerment.
Hector Alfonso Perezrodriguez, 33, was arrested May 13 after Costa Mesa police officers found a dog stabbed to death at a residence on Shalimar Drive.
But in a second arraignment hearing in Westminster last Tuesday, Perezrodriguez reversed course, pleading guilty to all counts. He was sentenced to serve 364 days in jail and four years probation, which will end on Nov. 8, 2025. A judge also ordered him to pay restitution of an unspecified amount.
An online prison inmate locator maintained by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on Monday showed Perezrodriguez had been released from jail the night after his arraignment hearing, having concluded his sentence, though his actual time served represents just half of the sentence handed down.
Perezrodriguez is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 23 for a firearms relinquishment hearing, according to court records.
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