On the morning of October 12, 2012, two University of California, Berkeley students were arrested at the Flamingo hotel after they were caught on video surveillance footage chasing a 14-year-old helmeted guinea fowl into the trees of the Wildlife Habitat at the Strip resort. Eye witnesses reported how one of the 24-year-old law students subsequently emerged from the trees, carrying the body and severed head of the bird and laughing and gloating before throwing the carcass at his buddy. The body of the dead bird was found on a walkway, the head amid some nearby rocks.
Under new legislation known as Cooney's Law, passed in 2011 and named after a beagle that died in a disturbing animal-cruelty case, Nevada has stepped up its legislation in this area and it's now a felony offense to torture and/or kill an animal. Two juveniles have already been tried and sentenced under the law, after a neighbor recorded them deliberately drowning two kittens. A study carried out by the FBI found numerous serial killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, tortured small animals when they were children.
Following the incident at the Flamingo, Eric Cuellar, 24, and Justin Teixeira, 24, were arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center, the former on a misdemeanor charge of instigating an act of cruelty to an animal charge, the latter with felony charges of conspiracy and the willful, malicious torture or killing of wildlife.
Cuellar subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 48 hours of community service and an alcohol counseling class. In addition, he was ordered to pay a $200 fine and $150 in restitution to the Flamingo resort for the loss of their exotic bird. On April 24, Teixeira's legal representative waived an evidence hearing; his client is expected to plead not guilty at arraignment May 13. The trial is set for July 24 and, if convicted on the felony counts, Teixeira could face up to five years in jail, not to mention a bar to the state bar, which would effectively end any future legal career.
We'll post the final outcome to this case in "Today's News" when the case concludes.
