Costa Mesa man pleads not guilty to charges of animal cruelty, child abuse in fatal stabbing of dog

A man on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges of animal cruelty and child abuse for allegedly stabbing a dog to death at a Costa Mesa residence last week, according to police.

Hector Alfonso Perezrodriguez, 33, of Costa Mesa, was arrested following the May 13 incident and pleaded not guilty to one felony count of animal cruelty and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse and endangerment, court documents indicate.

In a May 17 criminal complaint filed by the Orange County district attorney’s office, prosecutors alleged Perezrodriguez “did maliciously, intentionally and unlawfully maim, mutilate, torture, wound and kill a dog.”

Costa Mesa police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said Tuesday she could not comment on the nature of events of a case once the D.A.’s office had filed charges but did confirm a call came into the department shortly before 11 p.m. on May 13 regarding activity at a residence on the 700 block of Shalimar Drive.

“We responded to a call at the location on the 13th and found that the arrestee had stabbed the dog,” she said.

Perezrodriguez has also been charged with inflicting unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering on two minors, identified in the complaint as John Does 1 and 2. It is unclear from court documentation whether the animal cruelty and child abuse charges are related to one another or stem from separate events that occurred on the property.

He is currently being held in Orange County’s Theo Lacy Facility on $20,000 bail, according to an online inmate locator maintained by the Sheriff’s Department. Court records show his next court appearance is scheduled for June 1 at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

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