By Joel Langton and Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
A Maverick County man is facing animal cruelty charges after a video of him repeatedly striking a horse at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds earlier this week went viral.
Rodolfo Sanchez was arrested Wednesday by deputies from the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office and Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office with aid from the US Marshall’s Office, according to Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez. Sanchez faces felony animal abuse charges stemming from his actions seen on the video, which has made its rounds on social media particularly Facebook.
“We wanted to make sure we had all the elements for a strong case,” said Martinez.
Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens reiterated the sheriff’s point of view regarding building a case, and added, via a video posted to his personal Facebook page Tuesday, that he would push to bar the individuals seen on the video from stepping foot on the fairgrounds property ever again.
The horse, named Guapa or “Handsome,” is currently being housed at a local stable and is being tended to by county personnel. The horse’s first visitor after he arrived back in Val Verde County was Dr. Pat Martin, who gave the horse a thorough examination and prescribed some antibiotics.
Sanchez’s alleged crime came to light Monday when a video of Sanchez repeatedly striking Guapa, which was tied to a tree and unable to protect itself, with what appears to be small whip was posted to a Facebook account belonging to Magen V. Ramirez. A pair of videos was posted — one that is four minutes in length and shows Sanchez’s actions, and a second that is 14 seconds long in which someone is heard, in Spanish, confronting Sanchez about what they had witnessed.
The videos, which have now been viewed more than 15,000 times combined, and the post itself, which has been shared nearly 1,000 times, caught the attention of a variety of individuals and animal advocacy groups locally and abroad.
While Sanchez is the only person who has been arrested in connection with the incident, two other men can be seen on the video as well. One of them can be seen assisting Sanchez with trying to get the animal under control, but not physically attacking the horse.
Sanchez is projected to appear before a judge Thursday morning, when he’ll make an initial plea.
—
Contact the author at joelalangton@gmail.com
