DA: Man charged after 500 dead animals found in his Laton home in 2024

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Criminal charges were filed against the Laton man accused of animal cruelty of hundreds of animals and child endangerment, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

The DA’s office says 42-year-old Carl Joseph Mendes of Laton was charged with three counts of cruelty to an animal and three counts of child endangerment.

On May 3, 2024, deputies with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, officials with the Central California SPCA and Fresno Humane Animal Services responded to reports of multiple neglected and deceased animals at Mendes’ home in Laton.

Upon arrival, officials report finding pigs confined in pens alongside decomposing carcasses, animals in skeletal form, and one emaciated piglet in such poor condition that it had to be euthanized on-site.

Inside a trailer, the DA’s office says six newborn goats with umbilical cords still attached were discovered. They were underweight, lethargic, with no access to milk or water, and a baby goat was dead in a cage by itself, while another one was euthanized on-site due to its condition.

Additionally, 150 chickens, roosters, and pigeons were located in filthy pens contaminated with feces, lacking clean water, and housing both living and dead birds. The DA reports testing later confirmed that many birds were infected with highly contagious and severe diseases, and multiple fowl died or were euthanized during the investigation.

Fresno County Public Health assisted with the cleanup of approximately 500 dead animals on the property, including grave sites where multiple animal remains were dumped into mass burial pits, according to the DA.

Additionally, the DA’s office says children were living in the property, exposed to the same hazardous and unsanitary conditions.

If convicted, Mendes faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months in local prison.