Gonzales resident Jose Jesse Marquez, 31, was handed a jail term of 19 years and four months on Tuesday, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said. Marquez was previously found guilty of four counts of felony animal abuse with the use of a knife, felony resisting a police officer, and felony burglary. The court also found enhancements for a prior strike conviction and numerous factors in aggravation as true.
Authorities said that around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2023, Marquez rode his bicycle to Gonzales High School and entered the campus to take a tool. He then went to the barn area and stabbed multiple animals. Marquez held down each animal, which had been raised since birth by students at Gonzales High, and repeatedly stabbed them eight to 10 times in the head and neck with such force that their skulls were broken in multiple places. Two lambs died, while another lamb and a pig survived.