As a follow-up to our previous coverage of this story, two of the three Berkeley Law school graduates that were involved with the beheading of an exotic bird in Las Vegas have been sentenced, while a third will face more serious charges later this year.
Hazhir Kargaran, 26, who graduated from Berkeley Law School last semester, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty, property destruction, and trespassing, and was sentenced to two days in jail and 48 hours of community service. The charges stem from a recent incident involving two other Berkeley Law School students in which Turk, a rare, 14 year-old helmeted guinea fowl owned by the Flamingo Hotel was beheaded.
Justin Teixeira, 24, a recent Berkeley Law graduate, and Eric Cuellar, a third year student at the school, are alleged to have chased Turk through the Flamingo hotel’s wildlife preserve. Security footage from the hotel shows the three to be intoxicated. A witness saw the three students emerging from the preserve’s trees carrying the body and severed head of the bird. The bird’s body was later found by hotel staff in a different part of the facility.
It is believed that Teixeira was the one who actually physically mutilated and killed the bird, and he is being brought up on more severe charges later this year. Cuellar has already pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of instigating animal cruelty, and was fined $200 and sentenced to 48 hours of community service.
Kargaran’s attorney spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday. “Essentially [Kargaran] was part of a group that was, I guess, acting silly while intoxicated and chasing the animal around. One of the members of this group chose to be violent toward the animal, with drastic consequences. No one is alleging that my client in any way participated in or planned to harm the animal.”