After he allegedly began shooting animals in a vineyard at random and murdering over 80 of them, a guy from California is now in jail.
Just before 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office began receiving multiple shots fired calls in the vicinity of the 16000 block of Avery Lane.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they heard gunfire, but they were unable to locate the shooter right away due to the dense forest and darkness.
They used a drone to find the suspect and what appeared to be a crashed vehicle, and they issued a shelter-in-place order for the local residents.
The suspect, 39-year-old Vicente Joseph Arroyo of Salinas, was apprehended by Monterey County SWAT as they approached him in an armored vehicle. After conducting a search, police discovered 81 dead or nearly dead animals in the vicinity, including small horses, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, and various birds.
The animals who made over to the other side were brought to a vet clinic, where deputies stated they were eventually put to death due to their severe injuries.
Along with an illegal assault weapon and multiple filled and empty magazines, authorities also retrieved a number of long rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
Among other things, Arroyo was first accused of willful discharge of a firearm while displaying extreme negligence, animal cruelty, unlawful possession of an assault weapon, and felon in possession of a firearm.
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A $50,000 bond was imposed for him. But, seven other firearms, including an unsealed gun known as a “ghost gun,” are reportedly discovered by authorities during the execution of a search order at his residence. A reported 2,000 rounds of ammo were also discovered.
The bail amount was raised to $1 million.
“It is without a doubt that the warrant served by our deputies and detectives, which has resulted in the seizure of these additional weapons, has made our community safer,” Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto stated. “I am confident that we have prevented another tragedy from happening in the future.”
