Suspect In San Leandro Fatal Hit & Run Bit By Police K-9, Arrested; Past Includes Animal Abuse, Elderly Beating
ALAMEDA COUNTY (CBS SF) -- A 34-year-old man with a criminal history including convictions for animal abuse and the brutal beating of an elderly woman has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run that killed a teenage boy near San Leandro last week, according to Alameda County authorities.
Sonny Anderson was found at a hotel and taken into custody after a police K-9 bit him in the arm. He is accused in the death of 14-year-old Ivan Cruz, who was struck at 6:19 p.m. Tuesday in a crosswalk at East 14th Street and Ashland Avenue.
Police believe Anderson was the driver of the 2001 maroon Saturn that struck Ivan and fled. The car was later found and impounded as evidence, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Authorities said Anderson has been convicted of numerous counts of animal abuse. In 1999, the initial police report indicated he was being investigated for bestiality with a goat, prior to slashing the animal. He also stabbed a pony named Oreo in its hindquarters at Kennedy Park, a Hayward petting zoo. Also at the park, police investigated the killing of a chicken and turkey.
Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's office confirmed to KPIX 5 that Anderson was convicted of breaking into a San Leandro home, and severely beating the 74-year-old woman who lived there in 2009.
Anderson was arrested last Wednesday in Newark and is set to be arraigned at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Hayward Hall of Justice on charges of murder, hit-and-run and evading police, according to jail records.
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