Couple Charged with Cruelty to Animals in Feces Smeared, Roach Infested Home

SAN ANGELO – A San Angelo couple has been arrested for cruelty to non-livestock animals after police responded to their residence for injury to a 3-month-old child and found disturbing conditions.

According to court documents, on August 17, 2022, investigators were contacted by a San Angelo Police Officer regarding a 3-month-old child that had been abused and was at Shannon Medical Center with serious head injuries.

A search warrant was issued and executed at the 2900 block of JFK Drive, the residence of defendants Eli Sarsosa and Jaylin Deanda, and their three children. The residence was infested with cockroaches and was “disgusting” according to reports.

Upon entry, the investigator was greeted by a small dog named “Dusty”. The dog looked to be about 8 to 10 weeks old and was not fed as it had ribs showing. The investigator also could not find a dog bowl for food and water. There was only a small amount of dog feces on the floor and the house was separated by a baby gate.

Investigators observed little dog feces on the floor and led officers to believe the dog was eating its own feces. There was a large amount of what appeared to be human feces smeared on the walls with small handprints.

According to reports, every room, box, and closet was filled with cockroaches.

Investigators witnessed the dog try and pry a sticky goo off the floor in an attempt to eat it and its tail was observed to be half-void of fur, possibly from the dog eating its own fur.

Samuel Jeter, the man arrested for causing injury to the 3-month-old, was asked how the dog was fed and said they fed the dog table scraps like “pizza or hot dogs” and said the family had the dog about two weeks.

Once the dog was outside, officers gave the dog food and water. After that, the dog did urinate multiple times, something the dog never attempted to do inside the house.

Deanda and Sarsosa were arrested for cruelty to non-livestock animals on September 6 and were released the next day on bond.