A Citrus Heights man was convicted by a jury on Wednesday for several domestic violence-related offenses, as well as six counts of animal cruelty, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced this week.
The defendant, 50-year-old Edward Reid, was convicted of “corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant with use of a deadly or dangerous weapon and personally inflicting great bodily injury under circumstances involving domestic violence,” the district attorney’s office said in a news release. Reid was also convicted of battery with serious bodily injury, as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The domestic violence incidents revolved around incidents in 2014 and 2015, the most recent of which involved Reid accusing the victim of cheating on him and then beating her with a wooden sword “for several hours,” the DA’s office said. He then threatened to kill her and struck her repeatedly in the head and neck, leaving her with significant bruises on most of her body and a bone fracture.
Following the most recent assault, which occurred on July 4-5 in 2015, the victim reported the incident to police and also reported additional incidents from August 2014 and June 2015 that had been previously unreported. During the prior incidents, Reid had punched her in the eye and caused her to break her wrist, the news release said.
Inside Reid’s home, officers also found a loaded rifle, more than 60 rounds of ammunition, two power rifle scopes, a pair of swords, and two metal pipes. Seven dogs were also found in the home, which a veterinarian later found to be “extremely underweight and dehydrated,” the District Attorney’s office said.
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Reid faces a maximum sentence of 36 years to life in prison. Two prior strike allegations for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon with the personal use of a firearm will be determined at sentencing, which is set for Dec. 1, 2017, at 9 a.m.
The district attorney’s office this week also announced the formation of a new Animal Cruelty Prosecution Unit and a regional Sacramento Animal Cruelty Task Force, citing “a link between animal abuse and violent crimes against people.” The new prosecution unit is set to be operational in January of next year and the task force will hold its first meeting this month under the leadership of prosecutor Hilary Bagley-Franzoia.
