Tuesday, May 14, 2013 | 3:29 p.m.
A University of California, Berkeley, law student accused in the beheading of an exotic bird at a Las Vegas Strip resort has pleaded not guilty to animal killing and torture charges.
Court officials say 25-year-old Justin Alexander Teixeira (teh-SHEHR'-uh) appeared Monday on two felony and one gross misdemeanor charge in the Oct. 12 death of a helmeted guineafowl at the Flamingo resort.
A jury trial is set for Oct. 14.
Security video footage allegedly shows Teixeira and two others chasing the gray bird to a walkway where the bird's body was found. The head was found amid nearby rocks.
Teixeira is due to graduate law school this spring. A felony conviction could block his admission to a state bar.
Another Berkeley student, Eric Cuellar, pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge.
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