UC Berkeley Student Pleads Guilty In Las Vegas Bird Killing Case
BERKELEY (CBS/AP) - A University of California, Berkeley law school student accused in the death and decapitation of an exotic bird at a Las Vegas resort attraction has pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge against him.
Eric Cuellar pleaded Thursday to instigating or engaging in animal cruelty.
He was sentenced to 48 hours of community service and an alcohol counseling class, and also ordered to pay a $200 fine and $150 in restitution to the Flamingo resort.
Police say 24-year-old Cuellar and fellow law student Justin Teixeira were seen Oct. 12 laughing and throwing around the body of a dead, 14-year-old helmeted guineafowl at the Flamingo's Wildlife Habitat.
Teixeira faces a felony charge of killing another person's animal and other torture and cruelty counts.
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