Two Lakeland teens are in jail on animal cruelty charges, after police say the pair used a pellet gun to shoot one of the city's signature swans.
Acting on a tip from a witness, Lakeland police say they caught Brandon Templeton and Erica Heine shooting at a black swan at Lake Morton.
At first, the police report states, the pair of 19-year-olds denied killing the swan, but confessed when confronted with the evidence. Police confiscated a pellet gun and a small baseball bat from them.
The black swan was just five years old, and in its first mating cycle. Officials believe it was either pregnant or protecting a nest of eggs.
Templeton and Heine both were charged with criminal mischief and cruelty to animals, but Heine had an additional charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
Both are students at Florida Southern University, and they may face discipline there as well. Case UpdatesThe Florida Southern College students received probation Tuesday for killing a duck and a swan on Lake Morton last month. Polk Circuit Judge Dick Prince also ordered Brandon Daniel Templeton, 19, of Winter Haven, and Erica Inmaculada Heine, 19, of Lakeland, to stay away from the downtown lake.
Each pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
The judge also sentenced Heine -- who also has been arrested for hit and run and drug possession -- to 60 days in jail and Templeton to 30 days in a weekend work release program.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop felony criminal mischief charges that carried a maximum of five years in prison.
While on probation, Templeton and Heine are prohibited from drinking or possessing alcohol, possessing a gun or having contact with each other. Each must complete 50 hours of community service and pay $600 restitution to the city of Lakeland.
During Tuesday's sentencing, Templeton's lawyer, Richard McKinley, said his client accepted responsibility for the crime and its consequences.
Templeton spent 32 hours volunteering with the Humane Society of Polk County "to respond personally" for his actions, McKinley said.
Templeton wrote in a letter to Prince that he regretted the "ignorant, juvenile act" and that his volunteer efforts had provided a valuable lesson.
"My personal encounters with a frightened, neglected dog, a feeble litter of newborn kittens, and an innocent chicken hatchling have all served to remind me that animals have feelings, enjoy life and oftentimes depend on the benevolence of humans for their survival," Templeton wrote.
"He acknowledges, as you can see in that letter, full and complete culpability for what happened here," McKinley told Prince. "There are no excuses. No justifications of it." | Source: The Ledger - March 24, 2005 Update posted on Mar 25, 2005 - 2:54AM |
Templeton and Heine were expelled from the college Wednesday, an FSC spokeswoman said. The college's Judicial Committee, made up of faculty, students and staff members, recommended they be expelled. College President Anne Kerr accepted the recommendation and expelled the two, spokeswoman Shari Szabo said.
Lakeland police said they arrested Templeton and Heine early Monday after a witness reported that two people were shooting at birds at the downtown lake. A black swan and a Muscovy duck were killed. Police confiscated a pellet gun and charged Templeton with felony criminal mischief and two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Heine was charged with felony criminal mischief, one count of animal cruelty and carrying a concealed weapon. | Source: The Ledger Online - Feb 10, 2005 Update posted on Feb 11, 2005 - 12:25AM |
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