Animal Cruelty? Whats Your Opinion?

Man Pleads Not Guilty in Myspace Animal Cruelty Case

Yorba Linda man pleaded not guilty Thursday to six misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty stemming from footage, posted on a Web site and turned over to prosecutors by activists, that allegedly shows him throwing rabbits in the air and allowing them to hit the ground.

Joseph Anthony Deiss, who was the subject of a $10,000 arrest warrant, surrendered this morning at the Fullerton Justice Center. The 19-year-old part-time college student was accompanied by his father, who posted the bail after his son was arraigned before Commissioner George Berenson, who set a pretrial hearing for May 8.

Deiss' attorney, Ray Dinari, declined immediate comment, saying he would issue a statement later Thursday.

Deiss was charged April 8 for acts that allegedly took place last June 30 in the backyard of a Yorba Linda home where he no longer resides, although
he still lives in that city, authorities said.

Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals discovered the video on MySpace on March 11 and turned it over to her office the same day.

Prosecutors referred the case to Anaheim police, who determined it happened in Yorba Linda but agreed to complete the investigation, said Anaheim
police Sgt. Rick Martinez.

Deiss bought the rabbits to feed to his two red-tailed boa constrictors, the sergeant said.

The tape is 14 minutes long and opens with Deiss playing with a black pug dog and the two rabbits in the back yard, Martinez said.

Deiss throws the pug up in the air, causing it to somersault as it falls back. He comes close to dropping the canine several times, catching the pug
by its legs or back in some instances, Martinez said.

"It looks dizzy, dazed and confused, more like stunned," he said.

One rabbit is thrown up in the air about 15 feet and caught several times by Deiss, but one time crashes to the ground and appears frightened,
Martinez said.

At separate times, Deiss tosses the pair of rabbits about 15 feet in the air. The rabbits, which hit the ground several times, either run or freeze
and one is seen trying to hide in a box. Deiss is also seen throwing a ball in an under-hand pitch at a rabbit with "some force," and the hare tips over.

Deiss feeds the rabbits to the snakes in the video, Martinez said. The video shows them being eaten head-first and struggling to get out of the snakes' mouths as they are consumed, he said.

But the rabbits were bought as snake food, and the charges were not based on their demise in that manner, authorities said.

Still, watching the struggle is disturbing, Martinez said.

"Equally disturbing is his treatment of the animals beforehand, playing with them in a way that frightens them," he said.

Martinez declined to say what Deiss told investigators, but said, "I don't think he realizes the gravity of his actions."

Deiss, who faces up to three years in jail if convicted of all the charges, told the Los Angeles Times that his actions were not "meant to be intentionally cruel."

"I can see that it was somewhat bad, but nothing got hurt ... people feed their snakes all the time," he told the newspaper.

In a letter sent to District Attorney Anthony Rackauckas, a PETA representative asked that Deiss, if convicted, be banned for life from owning or harboring animals and be required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation followed by mandatory counseling.

Emami said the case is new and it is too early to address some of the pecific sentencing terms and requirements, should Deiss be convicted.

I would like to drop him from a great height