Arrest made in Santa Cruz pizzeria perished possum case

Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter officials say a 31-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an opossum that died after being doused with bleach at a pizzeria.

The animal shelter has been investigating a report that an employee at South Beach Pizza in Santa Cruz poured bleach on the marsupial last weekend.

A fellow employee brought the baby animal to a wildlife rescue center for treatment but it later died, officials said.

Alan Thomas Rockwood of Santa Cruz was charged on Thursday with one count of cruelty to animals, and later released. Animal shelter officials say Rockwood confessed to pouring bleach on the animal on Oct. 4.

Officials say Rockwood allegedly poured bleach on it in an attempt to kill it after it became trapped in a trashcan outside the Beach Street business.

A necropsy was conducted at the Animal Shelter and a veterinarian determined the animal died of pneumonia. The animals’ lungs were sent for microscopic examination of the tissue to find evidence of bleach. The toxicology report is pending.