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Case #603 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Parakeet set on fire with hairspray
Shoreham, NY (US)Incident Date: Monday, Dec 30, 2002
County: Suffolk
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Timothy Guider
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available
Long Island police arrested Timothy Guider, 18, after an alleged New Year's Eve incident during which he set his family's parakeet afire and posted images of the attack on a Web site. Guider-who was throwing a party in his parents' absence-reportedly coated the bird with hair spray and burned the animal alive, killing her. According to news sources, in addition to posting "[p]hotographs of the bird being burned and a laughing Guider holding [her] charred body," Guider and his friends "also took the dead bird to another party to show it off."
Case UpdatesFor using hair spray and a cigarette lighter to torch and kill his pet parakeet, Guider was sentenced on Aug 12, 2003 to 280 hours of community service and five years probation, despite a deluge of letters from animal rights activists seeking jail time.
Timothy Guider, 18, pleaded guilty in May to aggravated cruelty to an animal, admitting that he set the bird ablaze, knowing it would die, during a New Year's Eve party at his home.
Suffolk County Court Judge C. Randall Hinrichs could have sentenced Guider to 60 days in jail but said that after reading a psychiatric evaluation, he was satisfied Guider is not a threat to society. Calling the torching "reprehensible," Hinrichs said he hopes Guider matures upon entering college this fall. Granted youthful offender status, his criminal record will be expunged if he completes probation and community service.
Read more: Newsday | | Update posted on Aug 24, 2003 - 6:16PM |
| Guider pleaded guilty to an aggravated cruelty to animals charge on May 30, a felony, during an appearance before Suffolk County Court Judge C. Randall Hinrichs. Accompanied by his parents, Guider admitted that he sprayed a can of hairspray across a cigarette lighter flame, creating a blowtorch that fatally scorched the bird. Sentencing was scheduled for July 29. He is expected to be given five years probation and community service. He will also be subject to random drug and alcohol testing and psychological assessments. | | Update posted on Jun 10, 2003 - 1:19PM |
Because of a torrent of hate mail and death threats, the Suffolk district attorney's office said Friday it is willing to spare from jail a Shoreham teenager who torched his parakeet.
But Suffolk County Court Judge Louis Ohlig was so opposed to Timothy Guider, 18, serving no time in jail that he took himself off the case and passed it to Judge Randall Hinrichs.
Read more: Newsday | | Update posted on May 3, 2003 - 5:57PM |
After an investigation deemed Guider's actions constituted aggravated cruelty, the charge was upgraded to a felony, district attorney spokesman Bob Clifford said. Guider faces up to 2 years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted.
More Info: Newsday.Com | | Update posted on Mar 28, 2003 - 9:42AM |
Timothy Guider has been charged with a misdemeanor for this crime. If you wish to write letters asking for stiffer punishment, write to:
The Honorable Thomas Spota
Suffolk County District Attorney
Suffolk County District Attorney's Office
Building #77 N County Complex
Hauppauge, NY 11787
Fax: 631-853-5117
Copies of all letters should be sent to the assistant prosecutor assigned to this case:
Jeff Langlan, Assistant District Attorney
Suffolk County District Attorney's Office
400 Carleton Ave.
Central Islip, NY 11722
Fax: 631-853-5844
PETA's Action Alert on this case | | Update posted on Mar 22, 2003 - 3:15PM |
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