Santa Paula Man Pleads Guilty to Animal Cruelty and Drug Possession for Attacking Sea Lion in Ventura

A Santa Paula resident, Christopher Hurtado, faces up to three years in state prison after pleading guilty to animal cruelty and drug possession related to attacking a sea lion on a Ventura beach, KTLA reports. The incident, captured on surveillance video, shows Hurtado kicking and striking the ailing marine mammal with a piece of wood; a bystander alerted authorities on March 4th as dispatchers witnessed the assault through live-feed cameras near the Ventura Pier.

Hurtado, who attempted to escape before being apprehended by Ventura police officers, was found with .06 grams of methamphetamine and now, after changing his plea just before trial, he admitted to a felony count of cruelty to an animal and possession of a hard drug; the district attorney’s office has underscored the severity of the case, with Deputy District Attorney Patrick Benjamin stating, “Our office takes acts of cruelty to animals very seriously and we are committed to holding those individuals accountable when animals are unnecessarily harmed,” in a release from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

The sea lion, which was later found to be suffering from domoic acid poisoning due to algae blooms—an increasing problem for marine life along the California coast- was taken into care by the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute but had to be euthanized due to the severity of its condition. Hurtado, who remains in custody on a $25,000 bail, also admitted to aggravating factors including a prior strike and the vulnerability of the sea lion, according to the Ventura County District Attorney, Erik Nasarenko, which Naserenko’s office conveyed in a recent news release that expressed the community’s shock over the “senseless attack.”…

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