Law students charged with Guinea fowl decapitation

Picture of helmeted guinea fowl for your Expert witness storyTwo American law students have been charged with decapitating a Guinea fowl at a wildlife sanctuary in Las Vegas, according to reports in the local press and in the US legal blog Above the Law. The alleged crime took place in October, although charges were only brought on 2 January.

A press release from the District Attorney's office in Clark County, Nevada, states: "District Attorney Steven Wolfson filed criminal charges today against the law students who allegedly participated in the harassment and eventual killing of an exotic bird at a Las Vegas Strip resort in October.

"Justin Teixeira was charged with killing another person's animal (felony), torturing, overdriving, injuring or abandoning animals (felony), conspiracy to torture, harass or abandon animals (gross misdemeanor), and instigating, engaging in or furthering an act of cruelty to an animal (misdemeanor). If convicted on all counts, Teixeira could be sentenced to time in prison, county jail time, probation and/or other punishments as provided by law.

Eric Cuellar was charged with instigating, engaging in or furthering an act of cruelty to an animal (misdemeanor). If convicted, Cuellar could face a sentence of two days to six months in jail, 48 to 120 hours of community service, and a $200 to $1,000 fine, and any other appropriate punishment.

Both the accused are students at the University of California's law school, known as Boalt Hall.

The bird in question was a 14-year-old helmeted Guinea fowl named Turk that had lived at the city's Flamingo Hotel.

"This was a cruel and malicious act," DA Wolfson said. "It is important to hold people accountable for their actions."

The press release continued: "The investigation into the death of the exotic bird is on-going and could result in criminal charges against one or more additional individuals."

That follows reports that the bird had been captured on CCTV being pursued by three men, two of whom had been identified by Cuellar and Teixeira. The third individual remains unidentified.

The arrest report from 12 October states that a security guard from a nearby hotel saw the two men emerge from bushes at the wildlife habitat carrying the body of the bird.

"Gagnon [the security guard] stated that Teixeira was holding the body of a dead bird and threw it at Cuellar stating: 'I [expletive] killed wildlife.' Appalled by what she saw, Gagnon went and located Flamingo security giving them Teixeira's and Cuellar's description."

The report also states that the bird is valued at between $150-175.

• Picture of a helmeted Guinea fowl by eboy, reproduced under GNU Free Documentation License