Man arrested for allegedly killing multiple cats in Santa Ana neighborhood
Suspected cat killer arrested in Orange County
A day after FOX 11 spoke with residents in Santa Ana about their cats disappearing, police arrested a man they say lured neighborhood cats to his house and harmed or killed them.
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A man accused of killing multiple cats in a Santa Ana neighborhood has been arrested.
What we know:
According to the Santa Ana Police Department, 45-year-old Alejandro Oliveros Acosta was luring neighborhood cats to his property, where he then harmed or killed them.
Cats being killed across Orange County
Heartbroken families are banding together to find the alleged cat killer.
Detectives from Santa Ana Police and Westminster Police served a search warrant at this house where they found evidence related to the crimes.
Acosta was taken into custody and booked on felony charges related to animal cruelty.
According to Orange County inmate records, Acosta was released on Thursday.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: OC residents say Santa Ana man is intentionally killing their cats
What they're saying:
The Santa Ana Police Department said they've received reports about Acosta for the past several weeks. Some of the police reports date back to two years ago.
Residents in the area told FOX 11 earlier this week that they've seen Acosta using cat food to lure the cats. They've also seen him inject a cat with a needle.
One resident reported finding their cat hanging from a tree.
"I saw this same man grab her neighbor's cat, inject it with a needle and some sort of substance. And she saw him and she yelled, hey at him to get his attention. He got up and ran, jumped in his truck and left. And from what we know that cat died, and the owner went and put in a police report," one resident told FOX 11.