Toll of suspicious cat deaths reaches 6 in La Quinta

Riverside County sheriff's officials are investigating the suspicious deaths of three cats recently reported in the La Quinta area, bringing the total to six felines found gutted, mutilated or shot in recent weeks.

Lt. Raymond Gregory, a Sheriff's Department spokesman, said investigators believe the first three cat slayings, which took place within a one-mile radius in the northern part of La Quinta, are linked. He said in those cases the cats had not been attacked by an animal.

Gregory said it was less clear whether animals could have killed the cats found more recently.

The first cat's carcass was found with gunshot wounds on May 29 in the gated community of Starlight Dunes. The next day, a second cat was found gutted on Desert Stream Drive near La Quinta Park. The third incident occurred June 18, when a resident told police his cat was found with its stomach slit open in front of his home in the 44000 block of Foxtail Circle.

Gregory said the owners discarded the animals before the Sheriff's Department could examine the carcasses.

"We didn't have any physical evidence on the cats," Gregory said. "And a few weeks went by, and it looked like isolated incidents until the third killing."

Gregory said the initial news reports about the killings generated more calls from cat owners about additional incidents, raising concerns by law enforcement officials that a cat killer -- whether human or not -- is on the loose.

The fourth suspicious cat death was reported Saturday, he said. The cat's body was found torn apart in Bermuda Dunes, an unincorporated area north of La Quinta.

"Animals may have had access to the body in that case," Gregory said.

A fifth cat's carcass was found Sunday at the Renaissance Housing Development, at Avenue 50 and Jefferson Street in La Quinta. Its location, in the heart of the small town, and the way the carcass was placed suggest that a human may have caused the death, Gregory said.

The sixth cat death was reported Monday when a mutilated cat was found near a housing development in La Quinta at Washington Street and Miles Avenue.

"That one is the most suspicious," Gregory said. "There were numerous cuts to the body and the skin was partially removed. And its location is more urban."

Unlike the first three cat deaths, in which the animals' carcasses were discarded by the owners, authorities have the bodies of the three most recently killed. As in human homicide investigations, officials photographed the scene of each death.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Cases of three cats gutted or shot in La Quinta now linked

Riverside County sheriff’s officials are investigating a trio of cat slayings in La Quinta over the last few weeks in which owners found their felines disemboweled, gutted, or shot.

"We only get about half a dozen animal cruelty calls a month but nothing like this," said Lt. Raymond Gregory, a sheriff’s spokesman. "So this is too unusual and too weird."

Investigators believe the cat slayings are linked, Gregory said.

The latest incident occurred June 18, when a resident told police his cat was found with its stomach slit open in front of his home in the 44000 block of Foxtail Circle.

A gutted cat was found May 30 on Desert Stream Drive near La Quinta Park, the day after a feline was found shot in the gated community of Starlight Dunes. Gregory said the owners discarded the cats before the Sheriff’s Department could examine the carcasses.

"We didn’t have any physical evidence on the cats," Gregory said. "And a few weeks went by and it looked like isolated incidents until last week’s killing."

Gregory said it was clear that the gutted cats had not been attacked by an animal.

All three killings took place within a one-mile radius in the northern part of La Quinta, he said.

"This is a residential area so we are certainly urging the public to contact us if they see anything suspicious," said Gregory, who also serves as assistant chief for La Quinta Police, which is also investigating the cases. "The public should also keep an eye on their cats."

Gregory said if anyone saw violence against an animal in progress they should call 911. Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call the sheriff’s station in Indio at (760) 863-8990.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

* An earlier headline on this post incorrectly said the incidents took place in La Corona.

Adelanto man accused of throwing puppy against doghouse

An Adelanto dog owner has been arrested, accused of repeatedly throwing a puppy against a doghouse while drunk, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials said.

On Sunday night, after hearing yelps from the 12-pound pit bull-Labrador mix, neighbors confronted the puppy's owner, Donald Brown, said sheriff's spokeswoman Staci Johnson.

When Brown, who appeared intoxicated, didn't stop throwing the puppy, his neighbors called police, Johnson said.

"Brown was throwing the puppy in the doghouse with enough force to move the house," Johnson said. "He did this numerous times, and between each throw, hit the dog on the head causing it to yelp."

Brown, 55, was arrested Sunday night and booked for investigation of animal cruelty and being drunk in public. He is being held at West Valley Detention Center with his bail set at $30,000.

Johnson said authorities don't know why Brown was angry at the 3-month-old puppy, which is now in the care of the Adelanto Animal Control Division.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Iceland authorities fatally shoot bear

Police in Iceland say they fatally shot the first polar bear seen in the country in 20 years after the animal threatened people, the Associated Press reports.

Authorities say police in northern Iceland shot the bear Tuesday after determining that drugs that could be used to sedate the animal were unavailable and that a gun to fire them was elsewhere in the country.

It's not known how the polar bear reached Iceland; it may have come on an iceberg or swam. Scientists blame global warming for the disappearance of sea ice — vital for the bear's survival.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Was the camel-punching man imitating Schwarzenegger?

News yesterday that a man assaulted a camel at a Bay Area Six Flags theme park reminded us of another well-known camel puncher: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the 1982 film "Conan the Barbarian," Arnold walks through a dusty little town, knocking a camel over with a forceful punch to the head:

As if that wasn't enough, two years later in the sequel, "Conan the Destroyer," Arnold's animosity for camels continues unabated. He socks it to one again, this time because it spit on him:

I wonder if the governor has any advice for Christopher Allen, the alleged Vallejo camel-puncher, who was arrested for his offscreen punch. [An earlier version of this post described Arnold as walking through a dark dungeon, instead of a dusty little down. But then again, it was dark.]

-- Tony Barboza