Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty in 2008 Bever Park Duck Stoning
By Trish Mehaffey, Reporter
Ducks who survived an attack by vandals huddle in the corner of a night house at the water fowl exhibit at the Bever Park Children's Zoo on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Vandals killed about 50 ducks. (Jeff Raasch/The Gazette)
By
Aaron Hepker
Story Created:
Sep 9, 2010 at 5:46 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Sep 9, 2010 at 5:46 PM CDT
CEDAR RAPIDS – A 20-year-old Cedar Rapids man pleaded guilty last week to stoning 50 ducks to death June 2008 at the Bever Park petting zoo.
Zachary Kanellis, originally charged with felony second-degree criminal mischief, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of three-degree criminal mischief and injury to livestock, both misdemeanors. Kanellis received a deferred sentence of unsupervised probation for two years and was fined a civil penalty of $625 o each count.
Kanellis will also make victim restitution after a statement of damages are filed by the state within 30 days.
The other man charged in the case, Shayne Smalling, 20, of Twentynine Palms, Calif., was set to plead guilty Thursday but it was delayed and will be reset.
Smalling, a marine, made a public apology through a letter to the editor in The Gazette last year. Smalling admitted what he did and asked the community to forgive him.
Mike Lahammer, Smalling’s attorney, said Smalling will plead guilty to one count of livestock abuse, a misdemeanor, and will pay a fine.
A plea hearing hasn’t been set at this time.
A park caretaker discovered the vandalism a the zoo June 25, 2008, and found the 50 dead ducks and geese, which had been beaten and stoned to death sometime the night before.
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