PALMETTO, Fla. — Almost a year after a horse was stolen and later found slaughtered in a nearby field, deputies said a man has been arrested for the crime.
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office said surveillance video shows Eladio Garcia-Gasca on a woman's property the night her horse was stolen.
In the video, Garcia-Gasca is seen walking near a barn and shining a flashlight in a stable.
Garcia-Gasca was arrested on Oct. 15 at his home in north St. Petersburg and booked into the Pinellas County Jail. He's charged with grand theft and animal cruelty.
Last year, deputies said it appeared a man broke through a locked gate on the woman's property on Buckeye Road in Palmetto. The sheriff's office said a horse was taken and later found slaughtered for its meat.
Around the same time last year, two other horses were reportedly found slaughtered in Marion and Sumter counties. The sheriff's office said it has been investigating a potential black market for horse meat.
The South Florida SPCA said horse meat is not safe to consume, and it's illegal to sell or purchase horse meat.
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