Felony Animal Cruelty

Date Incident: 22 July 2016

Subject: Felony Animal Cruelty
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On 22 July 2016, at approx. 5:11 pm, an officer responded to Rotary Park for a report of a male subject attempting to kill a dog. Upon the officer’s arrival, he contacted a male subject who was with a black and white pit bull puppy. The subject was identified as Bruce Adams, 36 of Sonora.

As the officer was speaking with Adams, he was contacted by numerous witnesses, who informed the officer about Adams’ attack on the dog. All the witnesses stated Adams picked up the dog by the collar and threw the dog approximately 10 to 15 feet through the air and into Woods Creek. The witnesses also stated Adams said he was going to, “kill the dog”. One of the witnesses stated they saw Adams holding the dog under the water with his foot for approximately 5 seconds.

Adams was taken into custody without incident. During a search of Adams person a small amount of Methamphetamine, as well as a glass smoking pipe, were located. Adams was transported to the Tuolumne County Jail and booked for felony animal cruelty, plus misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

During the investigation, it was determined the dog didn’t belong to Adams. The owners of the dog were located, and the dog was released to them.