80 animals shot to death in California, 1 man arrested: sheriff

PRUNEDALE, Calif. - The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man after he allegedly began to fire multiple weapons and killed 81 animals during an approximate three-hour period.

The sheriff's office said that they booked Vicente Joseph Arroyo, 39, of Salinas, into the Monterey County Jail on suspicion of discharging a gun with gross negligence, illegally possessing an assault weapon, animal cruelty, vandalism, making threats and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  

His bail was initially set at $50,000 but has since been increased to $1,000,000.

Vicente Joseph Arroyo of Salinas arrested by Monterey County Sheriff on Sept. 3, 2024. 

"These animals varied from miniature horses to goats and chickens and ducks and guinea pigs. We had cockatoos – different types of animals," said Cmdr. Andy Rosas of the Monterey County Sheriff's Department. "These were all people's pets and they were being cared for and they were all shot and killed." 

Efforts to speak to Arroyo or determine if he had an attorney were not immediately successful on Wednesday. 

Eight firearms were discovered at the scene and, during a search warrant served at Arroyo's home, investigators found seven more bringing the total number of firearms seized to 15. 

"Within those firearms we had at least one assault rifle and we had two unserialized firearms - commonly referred to as "ghost guns," Rosas said.  

As the sheriff's office explained it, they began getting several calls on Tuesday about 3:30 a.m. about someone firing off a gun.

When deputies got to the scene in Prunedale – the 16000 block of Avery Lane – essentially a vineyard, it was covered in thick vegetation. Deputies said the gunfire didn't stop and they ordered a shelter-in-place for those living nearby. 

Deputies said they could hear "various calibers of weapons" being fired and since it was dark that early in the morning, it made it very hard for them to immediately find who was behind the trigger, according to the sheriff's office. 

The sheriff called for help, including the Monterey County SWAT team, drones from the Seaside Fire Department and the Gonzales Police Department. 

Authorities finally were able to spot Arroyo from a drone, and the SWAT team moved in with an armored vehicle, commanding him to stand down.

They were able to arrest him without incident, the sheriff's office said. 

When they were finally able to secure the scene, deputies found about 80 miniature horses, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and other types of birds had been killed.

The sheriff's office said some animals had survived but were taken by the SPCA to be euthanized due to the severity of their injuries.

Deputies also recovered multiple long rifles, shotguns and handguns, including an illegal assault weapon.

A motive for the shooting is not known and is part of the ongoing investigation. 

Weapons confiscated by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.