People v. Primbas

Defendant was convicted of aggravated cruelty to a companion animal and sentenced to 2 years felony probation, for shooting with a pellet gun a pet Rottweiler belonging to his distant relative. Defendant claimed that he thought the animal was a coyote rooting in garbage on the relative's deck, and that he intended to shoo it away, not to kill it. Statute requires proof of specific intent to kill or harm a companion animal, and circumstantial evidence was sufficient to prove specific intent. (HALL and GARCIA, concurring.)