SAN ANTONIO – Two people were arrested after allegedly abandoning an injured horse on the road after a car crash, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
On July 27, sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a critically injured horse found bleeding near an abandoned trailer.
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“Due to the critical condition of the horse, a responding veterinarian determined it had to be euthanized to prevent further suffering,” BCSO said in a statement.
Investigators with the Animal Crimes Enforcement (ACE) Unit obtained security footage from the scene that showed the driver of a silver Dodge Ram truck unhooking the wrecked trailer and abandoning the horse in a parking lot behind Santikos Casa Blanca, BCSO said.
Investigators arrested the driver, identified as David Morales-Mata, 24, BCSO said.
Clarissa Morales-Gaytan, 23, was also arrested after falsely reporting the truck as missing “in an apparent attempt to distance both individuals” from the crash, according to BCSO.
Morales-Gaytan told investigators that Morales-Mata said he had crashed his truck while towing the horse a day after a horse roping event.
She said that Morales-Mata instructed her to follow him as he relocated the truck and to report the vehicle as stolen, according to BCSO.
Morales-Mata was charged with animal cruelty to livestock animals and tampering with evidence. His bond was set at $10,000.
Morales-Gaytan was charged with filing a false police report. Her bond was set at $1,500.
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