Jonathan David Casanova Garcia, 20, was sentenced to eight years in prison last Monday on two counts of cruelty-non-livestock-fight, a third-degree felony under section 42.092 of the Texas Penal Code.
Garcia was previously charged with bestiality in Jan. 2023, a crime under section 21.09 of the Texas Penal Code involving sexual conduct with animals or similar abusive behavior. A joint investigation from Animal Care Services and the San Antonio Police Department led to his arrest, with his bail being set at $40,000. The investigation began after a man reported concerning activity on Garcia’s social media accounts, citing a post where he threatened to open fire on Happy Place Bar on Rittiman Road.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Garcia was discovered to have posted a video of himself touching a dog’s genitals, a photo of a cat with safety pins poked through its ears and a video of him burying a dead cat on his Instagram. Among these, there was a post of his booking form including his personal information. Although police deemed his shooting threat not credible, there was enough evidence to implicate him in animal abuse.
The canine victim featured on his social media, a young male Boxer, has since been rescued by Animal Care Services. After receiving care and rehabilitation, he was adopted into a new home.
Garcia has had prior charges, including assaulting a peace officer, assault bodily injury, evading arrest and graffiti. Before hearing his sentence, Garcia faced two separate cruelty charges and one count of assaulting a family member by choking. Eight years is the maximum under the plea bargain for each charge, though the sentences will be served concurrently.
During sentencing, Judge Ron Rangel of the 379th District Court expressed the court’s commitment to addressing animal cruelty. Imposing the maximum penalty of eight years imprisonment aims to send a strong message that abusive behavior such as this will not be tolerated.
“There are a lot of statistics that indicate that to be cruel, to exert that type of cruelty towards animals […] there would be a tendency for that to exacerbate in the future towards people. [It] doesn’t necessarily mean that every single person that comes before you is going in that place. So, you know, the tricky part of the justice system is to always try to isolate who that person is. You have to look within an individual’s heart. You got to look at their history […] So it’s incumbent on judges and prosecutors, probably more so than judges, to recognize those signs and try to act accordingly,” Rangel said.
