Gerald Anthony Ortega, Accused of Hanging Puppy, Back in Court Again

Not the actual dog, no...

​The Antioch man accused of beating his girlfriend, breaking into her apartment, and hanging her Jack Russell terrier puppy to death with an electric cord was arraigned yesterday.

He was given a May 13 date to next appear in court in Martinez for a "further arraignment," according to Mimi Lyster, the public information officer for the Contra Costa Superior Court.

When he'll enter a plea is unknown, though he may have a lawyer assigned to him as early as next week.

The Antioch man was arrested last week after a Concord woman accused him of being an abusive boyfriend for three years, threatening to kill her children, and burglarizing her home. During that break-in, Ortega allegedly strangled the dog with an electrical cord suspended from a ceiling light fixture.

Ortega faces charges of inflicting corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant, cruelty to animals, and making terrorist threats, according to the Concord Police.