What the Duck! Joshua Linhares Intentionally Runs Over Mother Duck, Jury Runs Over Linhares
But Massachusetts resident Joshua Linhares probably doesn't watch much nature channel. Police say he deliberately drove at the animals, killing the mother duck and narrowly missing her 12 ducklings in a Dartmouth mall parking lot last June.
It took jurors in New Bedford District court all of 15 minutes to decide how they felt about it. They convicted Linhares of animal cruelty.
Prosecutors requested jail time, but the judge gave the 15-year-old a year of probation because Linhares did not have a prior criminal record.
Witnesses, backed by surveillance video from nearby stores, said Linhares deliberately drove at the ducks, turning sharply and speeding up.
Linhares testified he didn't see the ducks because he was distracted by a woman waving her arms at him. He says he left the scene because he panicked.
The orphaned ducklings were adopted then released into the wild.