Justin Teixeira, Calif. law student, pleads not guilty in Las Vegas exotic bird killing case

(CBS/AP) LAS VEGAS -Justin Teixeira, a University of California, Berkeley law student charged with beheading an exotic bird at a Las Vegas Strip resort last year pleaded not guilty on Monday.

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The 25-year-old Teixeira is charged with two felonies and one gross misdemeanor for animal killing and torture in the death of a helmeted guineafowl on October 12, 2012.

According to authorities, the Flamingo resort's security video shows Teixeira and two others chasing after the gray bird to a walkway. The bird's decapitated body was later found on the same pathway and its head was found amid nearby rocks.

The case will be tried by a jury on October 14.

If Teixeira is convicted of a felony, he may not be admitted to a state bar once he graduates from law school this spring.

Eric Cuellar, also a Berkeley student, pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge in the bird's death.

Complete coverage of the Las Vegas bird killing case on Crimesider