Animal Law, Boalt Hall, Crime, Deaths, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Violence

The Accused Berkeley Bird Beheaders: The Arrest Report, The Dean's Reaction, and More

Continuing coverage of the two Berkeley law students accused of beheading an exotic bird -- including comment from Boalt Hall's dean, Christopher Edley, and the full Las Vegas police report, which has all sorts of interesting details.

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We’ve pasted the full document below (via Scribd). An article from the Las Vegas Sun captures many of the key details:

A 14-year-old exotic bird named Turk ran through its manmade home Friday morning at the Flamingo hotel’s Wildlife Habitat, seemingly scurrying from three males on its trail.

The bird and the men then go out of a surveillance camera’s sight, according to an arrest report released Monday. Minutes later, the three men emerge without the bird.

If these allegations are true, they amount to a nice, cinematic detail — the killing of the bird off-camera. Of course, res ipsa loquitur; if three men and a bird go off-camera, and then the men emerge with a dead bird, you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce what happened (although I am curious about how exactly you behead a bird; did anyone have a pocket knife?).

The witness told security she saw two men, later identified as Cuellar and Teixeira, walk out of bushes in the habitat with the dead bird, according to the arrest report. Teixeira, who was holding the bird, allegedly threw it toward Cuellar and said, “I (expletive) killed wildlife,” the report states.

In case you’re wondering about the deleted expletive, Teixeira allegedly said, “I f**king killed wildlife.”

Security officers located the bird’s remains on a walkway, near where surveillance cameras captured the bird running when pursued by three men, the report states. Its decapitated head lay on nearby rocks.

Security officers located Cuellar and Teixeira walking through the property based on the witness’s detailed description of their clothing, the report states. The witness then positively identified both suspects, police said. The identity of the third male in the surveillance video is unknown.

Yes, that’s right — according to law enforcement, a third man may have been involved in the alleged attack. Will Cuellar and Teixeira sing like birds, and reveal this man’s identity, if doing so will get them better treatment from the prosecution?

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In our first post on this story, we observed that Cuellar and Teixeira apparently paid attention in Criminal Procedure class, since they declined to answer questions after being read their Miranda rights. The arrest report confirms this, noting that both men immediately requested counsel.

The arrest report contains other interesting claims too. For example, it states that Teixeira was wandering around without shoes, oddly enough. It notes Teixeira’s (lovely) green eyes and nice proportions — 5’9″ height, 150 pounds in weight — which suggest he has a lean body, perhaps a six pack.

(Or maybe not — Chris Danzig tells me he’s roughly the same height and weight, with no six pack — but a boy can dream, right?)

Eric Cuellar sounds more beefy and therefore less appealing — 5’11” height, 180 pounds in weight. Perhaps he should cut down on the beer consumption?

Anyway, those were our observations. Check out the full police report at the end of this post. What do you notice about it? Feel free to mention your favorite details in the comments.

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UPDATE (10/18/2012, 6:10 PM): This is an ongoing story. For the latest coverage of Eric Cuellar and Justin Teixeira, click here and here, respectively.

Justin Teixeira and Eric Cuellar Police Report

Statement from the Dean’s Office [Berkeley Law]
Wildlife habitat’s camera caught 3 men chasing exotic bird prior to decapitation [Las Vegas Sun]
UC law students held in bird beheading [San Francisco Chronicle]
Justin Teixeira and Eric Cuellar: Arrest Reports [Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department]

Earlier: A Closer Look at the Alleged Berkeley Bird Murderers
Law Students of the Weekend: Alleged Berkeley Bird Beheaders

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