Man who killed girlfriend’s kitten among 3 animal cruelty guilty pleas in Sacramento

Three defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing in separate, recent cases of animal abuse in Sacramento County - one of them for killing his girlfriend’s kitten.

Elias Rocco-Reynolds, 22, Tyler Blankenship, 23, and Dezhi Zheng, 43, appeared in court this week after pleading guilty to felony animal neglect or cruelty charges in late 2018.

On Nov. 12, Blankenship grabbed a 6- to 8-month old kitten that he had given his girlfriend as a gift and threw the pet “as hard as possible into a fence,” a Thursday news release by the DA’s Office said. The kitten died instantly of skull fractures, the release said.

Rocco-Reynolds reportedly abandoned a dog and cat after being evicted from his apartment. The animals were found on June 18, with no food or water, and the dog was left in a small crate, according to the release.

Zheng had three dogs seized from him by authorities in November 2017 at a south Sacramento marijuana grow house he operated, the release said. One of the dogs had suffered a deep neck cut from a wire that had been used as a collar, requiring surgery at the Bradshaw animal shelter, the DA’s office said,

Blankenship’s charge was felony animal cruelty, while the other two were categorized as felony animal neglect. Each carries a maximum of 3 years in prison and fines up to $20,000 in California.

Blankenship and Zheng are awaiting prison sentences, with a sentencing date still pending.

Additionally, the three men will each get 5 years of probation and be barred from owning, possessing, living with or caring for any animal for 10 years.

Blankenship was also ordered to complete anger management classes.