Case #15HF1122
Date: October 1, 2015
MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED ON ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ANIMAL ABUSE CHARGES FOR ATTACKING ELDERLY WOMAN AND HER DOG OUT WALKING
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man will be arraigned tomorrow for attacking a woman in her 70s and her small dog while they were out walking. Craig Andrew Ledbetter, 51, Irvine, is charged with one felony count of attempted murder, one felony count of elder and dependent adult abuse, one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury, one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty, one misdemeanor count of resisting and obstructing an officer, and sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury to an elder. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 12years in state prison. The People will request he be held on $1 million bail at his arraignment tomorrow, Oct. 2, 2015, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
At approximately 2:45 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2015, the victim was walking her small dog on a leash in an Irvine neighborhood. Ledbetter is accused of screaming in her direction and then pushing her to the ground. He is accused of getting on top of the victim and punching her in the face and chest. The defendant is accused of standing up and repeatedly kicking the victim in the head. He is accused of taking the victim’s small dog by the leash and swinging the dog over his shoulder.
Witnesses called 911 and the Irvine Police Department, who investigated this case, responded to the scene. Ledbetter is accused of resisting the police officers who contacted him but was subsequently arrested. The victim was transported to a local hospital to be treated for bleeding in the brain, a dislocated left arm, eye injuries, among other injuries sustained in the attack. The victim’s small dog was not physically injured.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Duke of the Family Protection Unit is prosecuting this case.