16-year-old felon arrested in Delhi pig killing

A 16-year-old Delhi High School student was arrested and booked into juvenile hall after admitting to torturing and killing a school FFA pig over the weekend, Sheriff Vern Warnke said.

The pig was discovered by a 17-year-old student who went to the school Sunday morning to feed dairy cattle. It had been burned, stabbed and hung by a rope around its neck.

Deputy Jesse Aguilar, a school resource officer at Delhi High, worked with students to identify the 16-year-old as the suspect, who was arrested Tuesday afternoon, Warnke said.

The suspect was on felony probation for burglary. He was not involved in FFA, Warnke said. Investigators did not identify the suspect because he is a minor.

“The deputy who made the arrest said the true heroes here are the students,” Warnke said. “Because of their willingness to work with Aguilar, the suspect was identified and an arrest was made.”

The incident was reported to Aguilar on Monday, a school holiday observing Presidents Day, but he vowed to make an arrest by the next day, Warnke said.

Students helped Aguilar by reviewing posts made by the suspect on social media. On Tuesday, the suspect admitted torturing and killing the pig, Warnke said. He was booked into juvenile hall on animal cruelty charges.

Delhi Unified Superintendent Adolfo Melara said in a message on the district website that the incident does not represent the school, students or staff members.

“Isolated, unfortunate incidents such as this can easily be used to smear the reputation not only of our district but of our community,” he said. “Let’s not allow that anymore. Delhi is a great place with people who care.”

Aguilar, who makes plenty of arrests, didn’t immediately make the sheriff known of this arrest, Warnke said.

Though the suspect said he acted alone and that the pig died of asphyxiation, Warnke said he doesn’t believe him.

From his experience in agriculture, Warnke said he doesn’t believe a 100-pound pig could be hung without putting up a fight.

“I believe there was someone else involved,” Warnke said.

The incident continues to be under investigation, though charges against the suspect have been sent to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office for review, Warnke said.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 6:33 PM with the headline "16-year-old felon arrested in Delhi pig killing."