A Laguna Beach man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly slamming a cat against the hood of a police patrol vehicle, officials said.
The incident occurred along the 400 block of Hill Street about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, when police got calls about a man screaming in the middle of the street.
The first responding officer spotted the man holding a cat with his right hand raised in the air, police said in a news release Monday.
The officer gave the man commands, but the man did not comply and he started walking and “yelling unintelligible words.”
The officer eventually used a Taser on the man, but the tool had no effect, police said. The man walked toward a second officer who arrived at the scene with the cat in his hand. He then allegedly got on the hood of the second officer’s patrol vehicle and began hitting the cat on the hood.
Police used a Taser on the man a second time and the man fell to the ground. He was taken into custody. The cat, which died, was taken from the scene.
Police determined where the man lived – and that he was allegedly abusing the cat prior to taking it outside.
The suspect, Joey Gabaldon, 52, was transported to Mission Hospital Laguna Beach before being taken to jail. He was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty, resisting an executive officer and resisting arrest, police told the Daily Pilot.
Gabaldon’s bail was set at $20,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, the newspaper reported.
