LAS VEGAS (AP) - An attorney pleaded not guilty on behalf of a University of California, Berkeley, law student facing felony animal torture and killing charges in the beheading last October of an exotic bird at a Las Vegas Strip resort.
Attorney Michael Pariente said Monday that Justin Alexander Teixeira (teh-SHEHR'-uh) intends to fight the charges stemming from the Oct. 12 decapitation of the helmeted guineafowl in a wildlife habitat exhibit at the Flamingo Las Vegas.
Pariente says he intends to deal with the case in court, not in the media.
The 24-year-old Teixeira wasn't present.
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Bill Kephart set an April 24 evidentiary hearing.
Another Berkeley student, 25-year-old Eric Cuellar (KWAY'-ahr), pleaded guilty Jan. 10 to a misdemeanor charge of instigating an act of cruelty to an animal.
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2/11/2013 4:07:07 PM (GMT -8:00)
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
