SANTA ANA Calif. (KTLA) – A California man who authorities said lured cats with food in order to violently beat them to death has been charged with animal cruelty and stealing a family’s pet.

Alejandro Oliveros Acosta, 46, was charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office this week on two counts of felony animal cruelty, one felony count of theft of a companion animal, and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.

He’s accused of killing or injuring several cats in the Santa Ana area since November 2024, including an expensive Bengal Lynx cat that was taken from its home in Westminster.

7 instances so far of cats being injured, killed: Police

The Santa Ana Police Department has documented seven instances of cats being injured or killed in the area of West Wilshire Avenue and South Clara Street, including those that suffered broken backs or bloody faces.

In March, a surveillance video was released that showed a man luring the Bengal Lynx from its home using a can of food. The cat, Clubber, was eventually returned to the home after the video was made public, but the suspect’s identity remained unknown.

Weeks later, a Santa Ana man said he saw his neighbor, Oliveros Acosta, pick up a cat over his head and slam it to the ground. The man’s wife confirmed that the cat had been killed, and they called Santa Ana Animal Control to report the incident.

Two days later, Animal Control was called for a report of a sick cat that had been dropped from the bed of a white Toyota Tacoma pickup the same type of vehicle seen in the Westminster incident. The video showed the suspect, later identified as Acosta, stomping on the cat with his foot.

California man posted $40K bond

Oliveros Acosta was arrested by officers from Santa Ana and the Westminster police department on April 24 and was released after posting a $40,000 bail. His release sparked widespread public outcry, leading to an “unruly” vigil by concerned residents that was held outside the suspect’s home.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said he was released before the police departments completed their investigations and presented the case for consideration.

Prosecutors have since asked for his bail to be increased to $100,000 due to the “danger Oliveros Acosta poses to public safety.” The D.A.’s Office did not state if their request had been granted by the judge assigned to the case.

District attorney looking into potential additional charges

The case remains under investigation by the two local police departments, and the D.A.’s Office says it is continuing to evaluate the evidence to determine if additional charges are warranted.

If convicted as charged, he could face a maximum of four years and four months for the animal cruelty-related charges, with an additional year of jail time for the misdemeanor drug charge, which was added after he was found with methamphetamine on his person at the time of the arrest.

Oliveros Acosta is due in court in Santa Ana on Wednesday.