Antioch police arrested William Landers on Jan. 13 after a woman on her way to work called 911 to report a man who had been pushing a shopping cart at West Eighth and G streets repeatedly shaking and punching a small puppy.
When police found the approximately 10-pound Labrador and pit bull mix that Landers named Rocky, the puppy was "unresponsive and motionless in awkward position," Contra Costa County deputy district attorney Jason Peck said.
Landers told the officers that Rocky had fallen out of the shopping cart and he had been trying to administer CPR, according to Antioch police.
When Antioch Animal Services had Rocky treated by a veterinarian, the doctor determined that Rocky suffered from blunt force trauma, consistent with being severely beaten, authorities said.
Peck said Rocky has neurological damage and has not been able to walk on his toes since the beating.
It was the extent of Rocky's injuries that prompted Peck to file one felony count of animal cruelty against Landers on Friday, the prosecutor said.
Landers is being held in County Jail in Martinez and Rocky is in foster care.
"He's still struggling, but he's OK," Antioch Animal Services Supervisor Monika Helgemo said on Tuesday.
(San Jose Mercury News - Jan 19, 2016)
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