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UC Berkeley law students accused of decapitating exotic bird in Las Vegas

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Editor in Chief and President

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Two men who say they are UC Berkeley law students were arrested in Las Vegas Friday for allegedly decapitating an exotic bird at a hotel.

24-year-olds Eric Cuellar and Justin Teixeira were booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of conspiracy and willful malicious torture/killing of wildlife, according to a Friday statement by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The two told police they were students at the UC Berkeley School of Law, and UC Berkeley student identification cards were found in their possession, according to the statement. Both names appear in the UC Berkeley directory.

The suspects were captured on video surveillance footage chasing the bird into some trees at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino and were then spotted by a witness emerging from the trees carrying the dead bird and its severed head, according to the statement.

The 14-year-old Helmeted Guinea Fowl belonged to the Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat attraction.

Cuellar and Teixeira could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sarah Burns is the university news editor. Contact her at [email protected].
LAST UPDATED

OCTOBER 15, 2012


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