Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Cal law grad’s court appearance in bird-beheading case delayed

Justin Teixeira

Justin Teixeira

A court appearance was postponed Monday for a University of California, Berkeley, law school graduate completing prison boot camp for beheading an exotic bird in 2012 during a drunken episode at a Las Vegas Strip resort.

Prosecutor Frank Coumou said Justin Alexander Teixeira's date in Clark County District Court was rescheduled to May 5.

Teixeira is facing three to five years' probation before he can ask to have his felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor.

Whether Teixeira is admitted to practice law in California could on depend on whether a felony remains on his record.

He pleaded guilty in May 2013 to killing another person's animal in the October 2012 death of a helmeted guineafowl at the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat.

Teixeira was one of three men — all were Berkeley law students at the time of the crime — implicated in the bird’s death, but he was the one prosecutors pegged as the decapitator.

The other two men involved have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and have met the requirements of their pleas.

Eric Cuellar pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, paid a fine and restitution to the Flamingo, and was credited for jail time.

Hazhir Kargaran, whose involvement was discovered after footage of the death was found on Cuellar’s cellphone, negotiated a plea before being charged, Coumou said. Kargaran pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors and paid a $1,500 fine.

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