A man believed to have killed and mutilated several cats in Santa Ana has been arrested. Ted Chen reports for the NBC4 News at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
A 45-year-old man was arrested in an investigation into the abuse and killing of cats in a Santa Ana neighborhood.
Police said they received multiple calls from residents over the past few weeks with disturbing animal cruelty reports. Residents told police a man had been luring the cats to his property, then capturing them and abusing or killing the animals, investigators said.
Stream Los Angeles News for free, 24/7, wherever you are.
WATCH HEREInvestigators searched a home in the 23000 block of West Wilshire Avenue and found dozens of dead cats, Officer Natalie Garcia of the Santa Ana Police Department told City News Service. It was not immediately clear whether the cats were owned by residents in the area.
Alejandro Oliveros Acosta was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony animal cruelty, according to police. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning with NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP Acosta is also suspected of abducting a Bengal Lynx cat, named Clubber, from the feline's home in Westminster last month, Garcia said. That cat was reported stolen March 19.
The owner saw the suspect lure Clubber -- possibly with food -- before he snatched the feline and fled in a white pickup truck, police said.
