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UC Berkeley Student To Face Trial Over Beheaded Bird Case

LAS VEGAS (CBS/AP) -- A University of California, Berkeley, law student is headed to trial in Nevada state court on felony and misdemeanor charges in what prosecutors allege was the torture death and beheading of an exotic bird at a Strip resort.

Court officials said 24-year-old Justin Alexander Teixeira waived an evidence hearing Wednesday on animal killing and animal torture charges in the Oct. 12 death of a helmeted guinea fowl at the Flamingo Las Vegas.

Teixeira is expected to plead not guilty at arraignment May 13 in Clark County District Court.

He'll face trial July 24 on two misdemeanor charges.

Teixeira's lawyer, Michael Pariente, didn't immediately respond to messages.

Another Berkeley student pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor, and prosecutor Frank Coumou said a third may also be charged in the case.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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