In Hillsborough County, Florida, a 65-year-old man was arrested for sniping neighborhood cats with a pellet gun. Osvaldo Aloma Garrido was familiar with deputies as they responded to a similar incident on November 12, 2022.
Florida Man Arrested and Charged with Aggravated Animal Cruelty After Shooting Cats with a Pellet Rifle
In that incident, deputies responded to a resident claiming to have heard shots and seen a man with a pellet rifle. Another witness told Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies that they took the rifle from the man. During the November 12 visit, deputies found no injured animals or carcasses.
A little over a week later on November 21, deputies returned to the area and spoke with a witness who took a cat to a veterinarian after finding it with multiple wounds. According to WFLA, vet records confirm that the wounds were from a pellet gun.
Authorities spoke with Garrido on November 22 and got a confession out of him. He also shared that his the Hillsborough County School system could fire him from his job of five years as a custodian at Alonso High School. Garrison was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals with a weapon and jailed at Orient Road Jail on a $7,500 bond.
Since Garrido is from Cuba, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified of his arrest. Sheriff Chad Chronister discussed the arrest in a statement from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office:
“I will not tolerate any act of animal cruelty in our county. The suspect had no regard for the animals he injured and admitted to firing shots on various occasions. It’s disheartening to know that there are individuals who intentionally harm animals. We will not condone violence against any animal and we will continue to make sure that individuals who commit these crimes are held accountable.”
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