Law Student Sentenced to Prison Boot Camp for Decapitating Rare Exotic Bird at a Las Vegas Hotel

By Bary Alyssa Johnson (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Oct 16, 2013 06:14 PM EDT

Tags Law Student, University of California Berkeley, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Strip, exotic bird, decapitate, behead, Killing, Killed, Flamingo Hotel, Sentenced, prison, boot camp, prison boot camp, Animal Cruelty, Animal Rights, helmeted guinea fowl, felony, Misdemeanor

A law student at the University of California, Berkeley, who pleaded guilty to decapitating an exotic bird at a hotel on the Las Vegas strip was ordered to a six-month stint at a Nevada prison boot camp on Wednesday.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Justin Teixeira, 25, was mandated by Judge Stefany Miley to serve 180 days of "regimental discipline" in the Nevada Department of Corrections for his crime.

Court documents reveal that Teixeira and classmate Eric Cuellar were charged with injuring, torturing and killing "Turk," a 14-year-old helmeted guinea fowl at the Flamingo Hotel's Wildlife Habitat in October 2012.

Surveillance video shows the two men chasing the bird into a group of trees. According to police, a witness reported seeing Teixeira and Cuellar later emerge from the trees carrying the body of the bird and its severed head.

MyNews3.com reports that Cuellar pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of instigating animal cruelty in January. Teixeira was scheduled to go on trial for killing Turk, but pleaded guilty to the crime in June.

In May, a third accomplice, Hazhir Kargaran pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor charges for his part in the beheading. Cuellar and Kargaran both served two days in jail and were fined.

Facing felony charges for animal torture and killing another person's animal, Teixeira was able to negotiate a plea agreement. According to prosecutor Frank Coumou, if Teixeira successfully completes the boot camp stay, the felony charge against him may be reduced to a misdemeanor.

Following his stay at the High Desert Prison, Teixeira will be evaluated before he returns to court in April 2014 for official sentencing.

At that time, he may be sentenced to three years of probation if he is successful with the correctional program. If he fails to fulfill the demands of the boot camp, he may be sentenced to prison, reports to Fox5Vegas.com.

According to reports, an animal rights activist group called Nevada Voters for Animals has been pressuring the Clark County district attorney to enforce the felony charge against Teixeira. The group held an animal cruelty protest at the Regional Justice Center on Wednesday before Teixeira's appearance.