5 men face charges of cruelty to animals

TAMPA -- Five men were arrested early Saturday morning after they allegedly slashed a goat's throat and cut the heads off birds during what authorities think was a religious ceremony.

Tampa police charged Alfredo and Maximo Teixidor, 17 and 23, of Miami, Janos Mandilego, 32, of Hialeah, Julio Aleman-Alonso, 45, and Milton Rodriguez, 30, both of 8914 N Willow Ave. with three counts each of cruelty to animals.

Neighbors contacted police after seeing five men naked and running around the back yard at 8914 N Willow Ave. covered in blood, according to a police report. Police found the dead goat and a number of headless chickens, doves and pigeons, the report said.

Tampa police spokeswoman Katie Hughes said the men were thought to have been practicing Santeria, a religious faith that originated in west Africa and came to the Caribbean with slaves. Ritual sacrifices are an integral part of many Santerian religious rituals.

In 1993, the Supreme Court ruled that the city of Hialeah could not ban the sacrifice of animals as a way to suppress Santeria.

Jason Hoover, 24, who lives next door to the home where the animals were killed, said his neighbors moved in two months ago and that he had never seen any ceremonies.

Hoover, who is a Wiccan, which is a pagan, nature-based religion, said the sacrifices did not bother him.

"I'm a very open person," he said.

Neighbor Leona Nicolosi, 34, said that some neighbors might be bothered but that the people at the house had been kind to her.

"As long as they don't touch my animals, I won't have a problem with them," Nicolosi said.

-- Information from Times files was used in this report.

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