Southern California man charged after duckling beat to death

A 71-year-old man in Southern California was charged with a felony after a duckling was killed, authorities said.

Randall Lee Bertsch, a resident of the Orange County city of Irvine, allegedly beat a duckling to death and seriously injured another duckling "after grabbing the ducklings out of a community pool and using a plastic recycling bin to smash the ducklings," the Orange County District Attorney's Office said on Thursday, June 25.

The incident occurred in May when several people were attempting to usher a Mallard mother and her 10 ducklings out of the community pool area, the district attorney's office said. The attack was videotaped, and it appears that the eight other ducklings and the mother duck "escaped injury," according to the district attorney's office.

Bertsch's charges, dated on May 13 per online court records, include two felony counts of animal cruelty and three felony counts of attempted animal cruelty. He posted a $20,000 bail on May 15, court records show, and is now wanted on a $50,000 arrest warrant, the district attorney's office said. Court records show that an arraignment in custody was scheduled the morning of Friday, June 26.

The district attorney's office said they asked for the increased bail "due to the violence inflicted on the ducklings in an attempt to kill as many as he could."

Bertsch faces a maximum sentence of seven years and six months in jail if convicted on all counts, according to the district attorney's office.

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Southern California man charged after duckling beat to death

Reporting by Paris Barraza, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 4:20 PM.