Southern California man charged for allegedly luring, kidnapping and beating cats to death
Santa Ana Police Department
(ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.) — A Southern California man accused of stealing a Bengal Lynx cat and beating other felines to death will be arraigned on Wednesday and could face up to four years and four months in jail, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The suspect, 46-year-old Alejandro Oliveros Acosta, was arrested on April 24 after allegedly “luring cats with cat food in order to kidnap the animals to stomp them and beat them to death,” the district attorney’s office said in a press release on Tuesday.
Oliveros Acosta was also accused of having methamphetamine on him when he was booked into jail, officials said.
Acosta has been charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty, one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance and one felony count of theft of a companion animal after stealing a Bengal Lynx cat from a Westminster home in March, officials said.
Between November 2024 and April 2025, there were seven reports of dead and injured cats to Santa Ana Animal Control, including “animals suffering from broken backs and bloody faces,” prosecutors said.
On March 21, a Westminster woman came home to find her Bengal Lynx cat, named Clubber, was missing, the district attorney’s office said. Officials looked through video surveillance and found the suspect — later identified as Oliveros Acosta — with “what appeared to be a can of food, luring the cat before grabbing the animal and driving away in a white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck,” prosecutors said.
Clubber was returned to his owners “after the theft was publicized,” however, the suspect was unidentified at the time, prosecutors said.
On April 3, a Santa Ana man was leaving his home when he saw his neighbor, Oliveros Acosta, “pick up a cat over his head and slam it to the ground,” officials said.
Two days later, animal control was called for reports of another cat “who was not moving,” with video surveillance revealing Oliveros Acosta picking up the cat out of his truck, dropping it on the ground in order to “stomp on it with his foot,” officials said.
After his arrest in April, Oliveros Acosta posted a $40,000 bail and was released before police finished their investigation and presented the case to the district attorney’s office, officials said.
Prosecutors have asked for bail to be increased from the statutory $20,000 bail to $100,000 “given the danger Oliveros Acosta poses to public safety,” officials said.
The investigation of the case remains ongoing and the district attorney’s office said anyone with additional information should contact the Santa Ana and Westminster police departments to determine whether additional charges can be added.
It is unclear whether Oliveros Acosta has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
(NEW YORK) — A lone wolf actor poses the biggest threat to Fourth of July celebrations in New York and San Francisco, according to multiple intelligence bulletins obtained by ABC News.
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are concerned about the potential for copycat attacks from the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Day, as well as homegrown extremists.
“We are concerned about the potential threat of copycat attacks inspired by the 2025 New Year’s Day vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans and continued [foreign terrorist organizations] messaging calling for attacks against Western targets,” both bulletins say.
Those who could be inspired by terrorist organizations who are in the U.S., are of concern for law enforcement, according to the bulletins.
In New York, officials are concerned about individuals “motivated by a broad range of racial, ethnic, political, religious, anti-government, societal, or personal grievances.”
“Of these actors, US-based violent extremists supporting FTOs and [Domestic violent extremists] not linked to FTOs represent two of the most persistent threats,” the bulletins say. “Lone offenders, in particular, remain a concern due to their ability to often avoid detection until operational and to inflict significant casualties.”
In San Francisco, “malicious actors, including violent extremists and criminals, could potentially exploit or target First Amendment-protected demonstrations via mass casualty or opportunistic attacks; dangerous, destructive, or disruptive activity; or other criminal disruptions, as we have seen with other events in the past,” according to DHS.
“We remain concerned that these malicious actors and violent extremists may attempt to create public safety hazards using weapons, chemical irritants, bodily fluids, or other hazardous materials, and enter and disrupt designated event areas that are closed to public access,” say both bulletins dated June 23, 2025.
Authorities are also concerned about drones, which may pose a danger to participants, attendees and law enforcement, authorities say.
The conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas is also of concern, and authorities cite last month’s Molotov cocktail attack in Boulder, Colorado, and bias against the Jewish community as an indicator.
“Individuals with grievances linked to the conflict could also perceive large gatherings, such as Independence Day celebrations, as opportunistic targets symbolic of the West in general,” according to the law enforcement bulletins.
(CHELAN COUNTY, Wash.) — Three young sisters who were found dead near a Washington campground after they left home for a “planned visitation” with their father died from suffocation, authorities said Monday.
Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were located on June 2 near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, following a search, police said.
An autopsy completed on Friday determined the girls’ cause of death to be suffocation and the manner of death is homicide, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.
The girls had each been found with plastic bags over the heads and their wrists were zip-tied, according to court documents previously obtained by ABC News.
Their father, Travis Decker, who is wanted for their murders, remains at large.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — After a week of testimony from star witness Cassie Ventura, federal prosecutors in the ongoing trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday started calling witnesses they believe could corroborate his ex-girlfriend’s allegations of threats, abuse and violence.
Dawn Richard, a former member of the pop group Danity Kane, told jurors that she personally witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura. Ventura’s former best friend Kerry Morgan recounted pleading with Ventura to leave what Morgan viewed as an abusive relationship. And Combs’ former assistant, David James, offered a glimpse of what it was like working for the rap mogul.
“This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom. We’re all here to serve in it,” James recounted one of Combs’ employees telling him when he interviewed for the job.
Across six hours of testimony that played out like a legal tug-of-war, lawyers for Combs tried to cast doubt on prosecution witnesses and highlighted inconsistencies in the testimony, clawing back some of the credibility they might have built up with the jury during direct examination.
Combs has pleaded not guilty and denies allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering, arguing that while he might have committed other crimes – like domestic abuse and illegal drug use – he has not sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone.
Testimony is set to resume Tuesday, when James retakes the stand to explain how he would prepare hotel rooms for Combs – a piece of testimony that prosecutors plan to use to establish what, they allege, is a criminal enterprise with Combs at its center. Such a criminal enterprise is a key to proving the racketeering charges prosecutors have filed against Combs.
Prosecutors are expected to call an escort known as “The Punisher” and to call Ventura’s mother on Tuesday.
Dawn Richard testified about star-studded dinner where Combs allegedly punched Ventura
Dawn Richard began her testimony after Ventura left the witness stand Friday. She resumed her appearance in court Monday morning by testifying about how she witnessed Combs beat Ventura multiple times.
Richard testified that she witnessed Combs punch his then-girlfriend Ventura in the face with a “closed fist” in 2009 before a music festival in Central Park. After Ventura put on sunglasses and makeup to hide the injury, Richard said she put on sunglasses “in solidarity” with Ventura. The jury then saw a photo of Richard, Ventura and another member of Danity Kane wearing sunglasses at the festival.
Richard also testified that the violence extended to other public settings, alleging that Combs punched Ventura in the stomach during a group dinner attended by Usher, Ne-Yo and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine. Richard mentioned that allegation in her civil lawsuit against Combs, but defense lawyers highlighted that Richard’s prior discussion of the dinner did not mention the high-profile guests.
Richard in 2024 sued Combs for assault, copyright infringement and false imprisonment, alleging — among other things — that he groped her on numerous occasions and forced her to endure inhumane work conditions. Combs denied all of the allegations and his attorneys last week filed a motion to dismiss the case.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said Richard’s account of an alleged assault has changed several times, prompting some members of the jury to visibly shake their heads and scribble notes. Westmoreland also suggested Richard agreed to testify against Combs because he ruined her music career by dismantling the music groups she had once been a part of.
“You felt like Mr. Combs ruined your career not once but twice,” Westmoreland said. “Yes,” Richard answered.
Ventura’s former best friend takes the stand
Ventura’s former best friend Kerry Morgan testified on Monday about two instances when, she said, she personally saw Combs assault Ventura.
She testified she saw Combs hit Ventura in a home Combs rented in Hollywood Hills, and she testified about a second instance when Combs — allegedly in her presence — assaulted Ventura during a trip to Jamaica.
“I heard her screaming and I went to the hallway. The hallway was extremely long. They were coming out of the master bedroom, and he was dragging her on the floor by her hair,” Morgan testified about the Jamaica trip.
Prosecutors also asked Morgan about the aftermath of a 2016 incident when Combs is accused of assaulting Ventura. Ventura has testified this occurred when she tried to leave a “freak-off” at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles. Part of that incident was captured on hotel closed-circuit security cameras.
Morgan’s account matched what Ventura told jurors last week, saying the police arrived after the incident but Ventura refused to cooperate.
Morgan said her relationship with Ventura ended in 2018 after she says Combs tried to choke Morgan and hit her with a wooden coat hanger. Morgan testified that Combs demanded she tell him “who Cassie was cheating on him with” while Ventura locked herself in a bathroom.
Morgan said she later accepted a $30,000 payment from Combs after she threatened to sue. She agreed to a confidentiality deal in return for the money, she testified.
On cross examination, defense lawyers questioned why Morgan has not rekindled her relationship with Ventura. They tried to reinforce the idea that Combs was violent simply out of jealousy and because of the drugs he was taking – not that he was using violence to coerce Ventura and keep her under his control.
“I draw the line at physical abuse,” Morgan said. “The reason I stopped speaking to her was she was not supportive of me after that incident.”
Combs’ former assistant testifies about ‘Mr. Combs’ kingdom’
David James, Combs’ former personal assistant, began his testimony on Monday by telling jurors about interviewing for the job he had with Combs.
As he entered the headquarters of Bad Boy Entertainment in New York, James said an employee remarked about a photo of Combs hanging on the wall. “This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom. We’re all here to serve in it,” James said the woman told him.
James testified about the demanding hours, the weapons Combs’ security staff carried and the time Ventura warned him about Combs.
“She said to me, ‘Man this lifestyle is crazy,'” James testified Ventura saying. “She said, ‘I can’t get out. You know Mr. Combs oversees so much of my life. He controls my music career, he gives me an allowance.'”
James’ testimony is set to resume on Tuesday morning, when he is expected to continue describing the alleged process of preparing hotel rooms for Combs.
That line of testimony could establish the broader enterprise of people who supported and enabled his activities.
Prosecutors release evidence from Ventura’s testimony
After four days of Ventura’s brutal and deeply intimate testimony last week, federal prosecutors Monday released many of the photos they have shown the jury in their effort to convict Combs in their sex trafficking and racketeering case.
Through the evidence, jurors were able to see some of the bruises, gashes and welts that Ventura said she suffered after Combs beat her. They also saw a knife that Ventura said she used to block a door and protect herself from Combs.
“I was getting a lot of unannounced visits from Sean where he was angry, and trying to kill two birds with one stone, to lock it and have a weapon,” she testified.
Prosecutors also released photos from the night Combs was arrested last year, including $9,000 in cash, substances that they said tested positive for ketamine and MDMA, and bottles of baby oil that were allegedly stocked by Combs for use during the sex parties that witnesses have described in court testimony.
