Officials said they will offer a reward of up to $1,200 for information leading to arrests in the killing of three birds at Scovill Zoo in Decatur.
Two Flamingoes and an American White Pelican were found decapitated in their cages Sunday, and it appeared unlikely another animal killed the birds, Decatur Park District officials said.
"This is the worse and most heinous act that I've seen in 30 years at the zoo," director Mike Borders said.
The birds' bodies did not have any bite marks, and a hand print was still visible on the pelican's body where someone had grabbed the feathers, Borders said.
Each flamingo was valued at $2,000 and has been part of Scovill Zoo for the last 20 years. The pelican had been part of a rehabilitation program at the zoo for the last three years.
Any suspect in the pelican's death could face felony charges because the bird is on the federal migratory bird list and is protected by federal law.
Park rangers continued to investigate and work with law enforcement agencies Monday.
"The person (responsible) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Bill Clevenger, executive director for the park district.
The Decatur Park District has asked anyone with information to call the authorities. The agency is offering $1,000 for the reward, with the Humane Society of Decatur and Macon County contributing $200 to the fund. Case UpdatesLloyd Pringle pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property in the killings last Halloween of two Chilean flamingos and a white pelican. He will serve one year of conditional discharge, which is similar to probation, and two weekends in jail, officials said.
Macon County prosecutors originally charged Pringle with three counts of animal torture but dropped those charges. A public telephone listing for Pringle could not be found.
Pringle and two other men urged a 15-year-old to break into the zoo and helped cover up the crime, Assistant State's Attorney Mark Bradley said Friday in court. Sean M. Riley, 26, has pleaded guilty to animal torture and Brandon Gossard, 19, has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. Both are awaiting sentencing.
The teen, now 16, pleaded guilty in January to one count of animal torture and was sentenced to an indeterminate term in juvenile prison. His name has not been released because of his age.
In court documents, authorities said the teen strangled and decapitated the flamingos and stomped on the pelican before killing it. | Source: Pantagraph - June 26, 2005
Update posted on Jun 28, 2005 - 5:31PM |
A 16-year-old youth who admitted killing three exotic birds at Decatur's Scovill Zoo had a history of torturing cats and once fired a BB gun at someone who was leaving church.
His history was revealed Thursday (Feb 10, 2005) during a hearing to determine whether the youth will be sentenced to probation or time in juvenile prison. He pleaded guilty in January to one count of animal torture stemming from the Halloween killings of two Chilean flamingos and a white pelican. Three adults, Sean M. Riley, 26, Lloyd G. Pringle, 19, and Brandon Gossard, 19, have pleaded not guilty to charges alleging they were involved in the crime or covering it up.
Associate Judge Lisa Holder White postponed sentencing until Monday so she can have time to review reports submitted during Thursday's hearing.
The hearing included the fullest account so far of how the bird killings occurred, including that the pelican died trying to protect the flamingos. It also included testimony from the youth, who said he thinks about the killings every day.
"I feel terrible about it," he said. "There's no way to describe how I feel about it."
Ward Davis, chief park ranger, testified the youth, then 15, voluntarily came in to talk with authorities after police began gathering information about the crime. He initially said he was the only one involved, but later said the incident began as a dare from other young men. Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Dobson later described the dare as "stupid, quasi-gang-type activity."
Davis said the youth told police he refused a dare to slide down a trash chute but agreed to steal chickens from the zoo. While looking for chickens, dressed in dark clothing and carrying a dagger, the youth was shocked on an electrical fence, Davis said. He then climbed over the fence and went after the flamingos, but the pelican tried to protect them.
"Our experience with the pelican was he was a protective bird," Davis said. "This was like his flock."
The youth then strangled the birds and cut off their heads. The pelican's head and a flamingo's head were later found in mailboxes in rural Macon County.
After his arrest, the youth was briefly held at the Sangamon County Detention Center and later taken to St. Mary's Hospital for psychiatric treatment, which he continues to receive. His attorney, Gary Geisler, is seeking probation. Geisler said the youth has a history of depression and alcohol and marijuana use but is taking steps in the right direction to get help. He has no prior criminal record.
Sonja Songer, a juvenile justice team leader with Heritage Behavioral Health Center Inc., said the youth appears to be doing well after moving from his mother's home to that of his brother. She recommended he receive probation and intensive outpatient treatment.
Dobson asked for prison time, pointing to a report from a licensed clinical social worker in which the youth admitted he had choked and tortured cats while living in his mother's home. He also admitted to an incident in which he fired a BB gun at a person exiting a church. It was unclear if that person was injured.
Dobson said a prison sentence would deter others and argued his behavior in torturing animals is similar to others who have gone on to commit more serious crimes.
"This is somebody who has something really wrong with him," she said.
Animal torture is normally a Class 3 felony punishable by probation or two to five years in prison. But juvenile prison sentences are indeterminate in length, State's Attorney Jack Ahola said.
When he testified, the youth acknowledged the BB gun incident and said he tortured the cats from age 11 or 12 until shortly before the incident at the zoo. Although he was drinking the night of the bird killings, he said his problem with hurting animals stemmed more from anger.
He said he knows he needs counseling.
"If I ever get some kind of urge to do this again, I will go to my counselor," he said.
He said he plans to get a job and make restitution to the zoo, but Dobson said his young age and the $15,000 required to replace the flamingos make any sort of meaningful restitution unlikely. Davis testified the flamingos would be difficult to replace, with the zoo on a waiting list for eggs that could take two or three years to get. | Source: Herald & Review - Feb 11, 2005
Update posted on Feb 14, 2005 - 4:10PM |
Authorities charged three men in connection with the decapitation of birds at Decatur's Scovill Zoo, saying they urged a 15-year-old to break into the zoo on Halloween and helped cover up the crime.
Police described it as a theft attempt gone awry. They said the teenager, arrested last month, had been urged by the three to steal chickens from the zoo on Oct. 31.
The following day, zoo workers found two Chilean flamingoes and a white pelican mangled in their cages.
Chief Park Ranger Ward Davis said authorities believe the teen went after the birds after being unable to find any chickens. In court documents, authorities said the 15-year-old strangled and decapitated the flamingos and stomped on the pelican before decapitating it. The case against the teen is pending.
Sean M. Riley, 26, Lloyd G. Pringle, 19, and Brandon Gossard, 19, described as acquaintances of the teen, were arrested in connection with the bird deaths Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that Riley directed the teen to commit a theft at the zoo and gave him clothing, a backpack and knife used in the crime; that Pringle helped the teen get over a fence; and that Gossard helped hide evidence, including putting parts of the birds in rural mailboxes.
Riley and Pringle are charged with criminal damage to government-supported property, punishable by probation or up to seven years in prison, and with three counts of animal torture. Those charges were filed under the legal theory that the two men were responsible for the teens actions because they aided or abetted the teen.
Riley also is charged with unlawfully contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Gossard is charged with obstructing justice. | Source: Belleville News-Democrat - Dec 23, 2004
Update posted on Feb 6, 2005 - 4:53AM |
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