Oct 14, 2012

Exotic Bird Decapitated at Las Vegas Casino; Law Students Charged

By Alyssa Newcomb

                                                          (Image Credit: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept.)

Two University of California-Berkeley students are accused of decapitating an exotic 14-year-old bird at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino’s wildlife habitat in Las Vegas.

Eric Cuellar and Justin Teixeira, both 24, were captured on surveillance video Friday morning chasing the helmeted guinea fowl into some trees and then emerging carrying its severed body, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The two men, who said they are law students at the school, then laughed about the killing and threw the body of the bird, witnesses told police.

They were booked into the Clark County Detention Center and face felony charges of conspiracy and the willful and malicious torture or killing of wildlife.

The Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat is home to hundreds of animals, including swans, ducks, turtles and of course, flamingos.

It was not clear whether Cuellar and Teixeira had hired an attorney.


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/exotic-bird-decapitated-at-las-vegas-casino-law-students-charged/