Cesar Gustavo Diaz captured the bird at Amelia Mayberry Park in Los Angeles County in June 2025, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said
NEED TO KNOW
- A 25-year-old man in Los Angeles County was sentenced on Feb. 19 following an investigation into animal cruelty
- In June 2025, Cesar Gustavo Diaz captured a juvenile Cooper’s hawk at a park in South Whittier and a video on YouTube later showed Diaz pouring what appeared to be a BuzzBall into the bird’s mouth
- Diaz was sentenced to 45 days in prison and 12 months probation at Los Angeles County Superior Court
A man in Los Angeles County has been sentenced to 45 days in jail and 12 months of probation after a video surfaced on YouTube showing him pouring alcohol into a protected hawk’s mouth.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, Cesar Gustavo Diaz, 25, of Watts, learned his fate after entering a no-contest plea to an animal cruelty charge after being seen giving a juvenile Cooper’s hawk an alcoholic beverage. He’d captured the bird at Amelia Mayberry Park in South Whittier, Calif., in June 2025, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) confirmed in a Facebook post.
CDFW stated of Diaz in the post, “He was sentenced to 12 months of summary probation, 45 days in Los Angeles County Jail (with credit for time served), 20 days of community labor, completion of a 24-session animal cruelty counseling program, five-year prohibition on possessing animals, ten-year firearm prohibition and payment of $220 in fines and fees.”
The governmental organization confirmed that “concerned members of the public” had “alerted” them after seeing the YouTube clip. This then prompted an investigation by the Special Operations Unit…