Stabbed sea lion is dead

A Garden Grove man was arrested Friday in Newport Beach and could face federal charges for stabbing a sea lion that later had to be euthanized, police said.

Hai Nguyen, 24, was fishing off the M Street Pier at the end of the Balboa Peninsula around 12:30 p.m. when a sea lion took the bait from his pole, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Evan Sailor said.

Nguyen became upset and allegedly stabbed the sea lion with a steak knife several times, police said.

A witness on the crowded beach nearby called police after seeing the sea lion stabbed. Sailor said Nguyen continued fishing until police arrived and arrested him.

Animal care workers from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach picked up the sea lion and euthanized it around 5 p.m. Friday.

“The animal definitely needed to be put down,” animal care supervisor Dean Gomersall said. “The stab wound went all the way through the chest to the lungs and there was internal bleeding.”

Police arrested Nguyen on suspicion of cruelty to animals and held him on $20,000 bail. Because California sea lions are protected by federal law, Nguyen could be charged with a federal crime, police said.

Gomersall said federal officials were investigating the case late Friday.