| For Immediate Release Case # 12HM10307
September 25, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MOTHER AND SON SENTENCED FOR ABUSING AND ABANDONING 30 DOGS IN LAGUNA HILLS PARK
NEWPORT BEACH – A mother and son were convicted and sentenced today for abusing and abandoning 30 dogs in a Laguna Hills park. Flordeliza Aguillo Escano, 59, Rancho Santa Margarita, pleaded guilty today to one misdemeanor count each of animal abandonment, animal mistreatment, and animal neglect. Escano was sentenced to three years of informal probation, 180 days in jail stayed, restitution, ordered to undergo intensive mental health counseling for one year, and is not allowed to own, live with, or possess any animals.
James Francis Alambra, 26, Rancho Santa Margarita, pleaded guilty today to one misdemeanor count of animal abandonment and was sentenced to three years of informal probation, 60 days in jail stayed, restitution, ordered to undergo intensive mental health counseling for three months, and is not allowed to own, live with, or possess any animals.
On the afternoon of May 20, 2012, Escano and her son, Alambra, drove a truck into the parking lot of San Remo Park in Laguna Hills. They unloaded two crates from the parked truck, one containing 14 dogs and another containing 16 dogs. Escano and Alambra crammed the crates so tightly that the dogs were stacked atop one another, without food or water.
Escano and Alambra then placed the crates next to trees near the road and abandoned them. Alambra’s truck wouldn’t start, so they left the scene after being picked up by a woman in another vehicle, who was unaware of the animal abandonment, leaving their truck behind.
Park visitors found the abandoned crates and contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, who investigated this case. The recovered dogs showed signs of neglect which included matted fur and ingrown toenails.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Malone of the Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit prosecuted this case.
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