A 71-year-old man was arrested Thursday on charges of beating a duckling to death and seriously injuring another one in Irvine.
Randall Lee Bertsch was charged Wednesday with two counts of cruelty to animals and three counts of attempted cruelty to animals, all felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of pursuing or shooting birds from a vehicle, according to court records. He also faces sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a weapon.
Bertsch was swimming in a community pool when he allegedly gathered up ducklings into a box just before 11 a.m. May 13 at Morena and Segura, police said. He allegedly used a plastic trash bin to strike some of the ducklings and then tossed them into the trash, police said.
Bertsch also allegedly whipped a trash bin at a mother duck and other ducklings attempting to waddle away from the man, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.