Start your day with the news you need from the Bay Area and beyond.

Sign up for our new Morning Report weekday newsletter.

The Fontana man suspected of sticking a kitten in the freezer, squeezing it and throwing it from a balcony window because she entered his apartment has been charged with felony cruelty to an animal, according to a tweet from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.

Lucio Cota Lopez, 34, is scheduled for arraignment Friday, Feb. 9, in San Bernardino County Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga, according to jail records.

His court date coincides with a surgery date for the 3-month-old kitten named Olive.

Fontana man who threw a kitten out of a second-story balcony charged with one felony count of Animal Cruelty. The kitten is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. #LucioLopez https://t.co/XkZsVxiROO — SB District Attorney (@sbcountyda) February 8, 2018

Fontana police said Lopez was upset because the kitten entered the defendant’s apartment. He left home in the 9200 block of Olive Street before police arrived but they found him about an hour later in the 8900 block of Oleander Avenue in the city.

Related Articles Kitten needs surgery after being stuck in freezer, tossed from balcony, California authorities say

California man arrested after kitten placed in freezer, thrown from balcony When thrown, the kitten hit the concrete pavement “resulting in major injuries to its chest and a fractured leg,” the police statement said.

Fontana Animal Services took the kitten to a veterinarian and officials said she would need surgery “and much needed love.” The staff named the kitten Olive.

Lopez remains in custody at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Bail is set at $50,000, according to jail records.

Get more pet and wildlife news delivered to your inbox for free on weekdays.

Sign up for our Coffee Break newsletter here.