A man caught on camera abusing his puppy in a Long Beach alleyway pleaded no contest today to felony animal cruelty. As part of the plea agreement with prosecutors, 28-year-old Alexander Cueva of Westminster was sentenced to three years in state prison and was banned from owning a pet for at least 10 years.
Cueva sparked widespread outrage last month when he was filmed using a leash to swing his puppy over his shoulder before slamming her into the ground near 12th Street and Long Beach Boulevard.
Neighbor Adalhi Montes captured video of the attack on one of his two surveillance cameras that overlooks the alley near his apartment.
At first, Montes said he was hesitant to post the video online because he is in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and he didn’t want to draw attention to himself while the Trump Administration has tried to expel more and more noncitizens.
He quickly erased his first post sharing the video, but decided to put it back up because he thought “that’s a life, still,” Montes said. (Since then, Montes said, he’s had no repercussions and is comfortable with his name being out in the public.)
The video itself spread like wildfire across the internet and resulted in Cueva’s arrest.
Melinna Alba, who lived in an apartment near Pine Avenue and Eighth Street, said she saw it on social media and recognized the offender.
Cueva’s mother was her next-door neighbor, and Alba had often seen Cueva riding his skateboard to the apartment, then whistling to be let inside, she said.
After seeing Montes’ video, Alba took a picture of Cueva and the dog the next time she saw him entering the apartment complex and sent it to Long Beach police.
She said she wasn’t even aware at the time that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had offered a $5,000 reward leading to the abuser’s arrest and conviction.
“I’m glad that the dog is safe and doing well,” Alba said. “That’s the most important part.”
The dog has been renamed Rue by her foster family, and she is “thriving in foster care and growing fast,” according to a statement from Long Beach Animal Care Service. “Her injuries are healing well, and she is loving life to the fullest.”
A video shared on Instagram showed her rolling and playing the grass.
According to the agency, Rue’s foster family said she “is incredibly intelligent and really enjoys training. She is slightly nervous when introduced to new people but comes around quickly!”
Long Beach Animal Care said Rue was not currently available for adoption, but anybody wanting to foster dogs in need can apply on their website.
After his arrest on April 22, Cueva was charged with one felony count of animal cruelty, along with an allegation that he used a deadly and dangerous weapon — a leash — to attack his six-to-eight-month-old puppy. The charges carried a maximum of four years in prison.
When he attacked Rue, Cueva was out on probation stemming from a June 2023 vehicle theft arrest in Pomona, court records showed.
In the vehicle theft case, Cueva was sentenced to 16 months in Los Angeles County Jail. He will serve the three-year animal cruelty sentence after that 16-month sentence concludes.