Police arrest juveniles in connection with zoo bird deaths
11:20 a.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Emporia Police took less than four weeks to arrest suspects in connection with the June 22 vandalism and killings of four birds at the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia.
Three juveniles — two 11-year-olds and one 13-year-old — were arrested Friday and accused of killing two black swans and two cereopsis geese in the after-hours incident at the zoo.
The trio also has been charged with burglary and criminal damage to property. They are accused of breaking into the zoo’s locked exhibit area and breaking or damaging a number of flower containers, according to an earlier report of the incident.
The 13-year-old also is charged with driving without a valid driver’s license.
Emporia Police Deputy Chief Mike Williams said he was not surprised that the case had been resolved.
“I felt all along this would be brought to a conclusion,’ Williams said. “It was just a matter of time until somebody started talking about the situation.”
Williams said that information often becomes available later, from citizens and Crime Stoppers, particularly in high-profile crimes such as the zoo incident, which was well-known throughout the area and was disseminated through media outside Emporia, as well.
He said that police were investigating other burglaries when information about the zoo crimes surfaced.
Officers investigated and interviewed youngsters during the late evening hours on Thursday and continuing into Friday.
Charges were filed in Lyon County Juvenile Court this morning against one of the youngsters. The other two suspects are expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
All of the youngsters are being held in a detention center, said Assistant Lyon County Attorney Rebecca L. Gerhardt. All will have detention hearings.
“They’ll have an opportunity to enter a plea at that point,” she said.
Gerhardt said that affidavits in the cases have been sealed.
Because the accused are juveniles, a broad range of sentencings could be imposed if any or all of them are convicted of the allegations.
Gerhardt said that among the possibilities are in-home probation, out-of-home probation, or in custody placement in a juvenile correction facility. The latter could be imposed until the child is 22 1/2 years of age.
“Community service work itself is always an option in juvenile cases,” Gerhardt said.
Because of the ages of the juveniles, no further information will be released.
Information for this story provided by the Emporia Gazette.
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