Oct 1, 2008 8:00 pm US/Mountain
Plea Agreement Reached In Crow Killing Case
Written by Brian Maass
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) ―
An Arvada teenager criminally charged for running over a bird has agreed to a plea bargain that will keep him out of jail and spare him from paying any fines.
Dustin McNutt, 18, pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals in Arvada municipal court in a deferred judgment. If he commits no crimes in the next year, completes 60 hours of community service and pays $80 in court costs, the conviction will be wiped off his record next September.
The case stems from an incident June 13. McNutt, an Arvada High School graduate, was on his way to a friend's home to play video games. He was turning into an apartment complex on the 5800 block of Pierce Street when he ran over a bird -- either a crow or a raven -- which was in or near the gutter.
A mother of two young children, Erin Dawe, saw the incident.
"And they intentionally swerved out of their path to hit the bird on purpose," said Dawe. "It didn't need to happen, it wasn't in their path."
McNutt said he could see the bird in the street from 100 feet away, but he said it was an accident.
"I did not mean to do it and would never intentionally do a thing like that," he said.
Arvada Police said McNutt initially denied trying to kill the bird but later admitted to it.
Contacted by CBS4, McNutt declined to discuss his reasons for accepting the plea bargain. He initially said he planned to fight the case in court.
(© MMVIII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
