A 44-year-old man is facing an animal cruelty charge after he repeatedly hit an elephant seal pup on the head with a rock, killing him, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said Wednesday.
Roy Lee Miller is accused of the brutal attack on the elephant seal under the Sonar Bridge near North Harbor Drive, Dumanis said.
Officials arrested Miller after obtaining a warrant Tuesday. He is charged with one count of cruelty to an endangered or protected animal.
He was arraigned in San Diego Superior Court and plead not guilty on Tuesday. A judge set bail at $40,000.
If convicted, he faces five years in local prison.
The Port of San Diego’s Harbor Police Department was investigating.
