Irvine man accused of beating duckling to death charged with animal cruelty
The Orange County District Attorney's Office charged the 71-year-old Irvine resident accused of beating a duckling to death with a plastic recycling bin last month.
"I've been very patient and wondering and hoping that justice could finally be served in this because I haven't forgotten anything," neighbor Ninette Infante said.
Infante said on May 13, a group of ducklings hatched on her porch and walked over to the community pool. Prosecutors said her neighbors tried to usher the Mallard mother duck and the 10 ducklings while Randall Bertsch was swimming in the pool.
"They were little babies," Infante said. "They were babies of a mother that had just hatched them that same morning. We felt like they were our pets almost because we were taking care of them and making sure that they would be hatched OK."
Bertsch allegedly began yelling at the birds before grabbing several and gathering them into a box, according to investigators. A video shows a man slamming the blue plastic recycling bin on the ducklings.
Infante said Bertsch claimed the ducks ran into the bushes when she later tried to round them up. Skeptical, Infante said she looked into the trash can and found a dead duck and another with a gash on its head. The Irvine Police Department said the injured duckling suffered severe head trauma. Officers said the eight other ducklings and the mother duck escaped Bertsch.
"Any act of violence against an animal or an individual is absolutely prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office. "It's incredibly disturbing to see how he acted against these little ducklings."
Prosecutors charged Bertsch with two counts of animal cruelty, three felony counts of attempted animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of harassment of animals. Prosecutors added five felony enhancements for the personal use of a weapon. If convicted as charged, Bertsch faces more than seven years in jail.
While detectives arrested him on May 13, Bertsch was released after posting $20,000 bail. After the charges were filed, officers arrested Bertsch once again. His bail was increased to $50,000.
