Man Takes Plea Deal In Kaena Point Albatross Killings
Christian Gutierrez pleaded no contest Thursday to five criminal counts, but 14 others were dropped.
Nineteen-year-old Christian Gutierrez, one of three people聽charged with slaughtering Laysan albatrossess at Kaena Point in 2015, agreed to a plea deal Thursday in Circuit Court.
Gutierrez was charged with 19 criminal counts in December and originally pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, 14 animal cruelty charges were dropped, but he pleaded no contest to five counts including: theft, cruelty to animals, criminal property damage, prohibited activities with respect to indigenous wildlife and introduced wild birds, and a prohibited act in a natural area reserve.
Judge Jeannette Castagnetti outlined the plea deal, in which Gutierrez could face up to a year in jail plus thousands of dollars in fines, though聽he’s seeking a 聽of his plea聽in hopes of avoiding imprisonment.
Gutierrez agreed to be debriefed by the prosecuting attorney, be available as a witness for hearings or trials, refrain from committing crimes for the duration of the agreement, and give up his right to remain silent.
Gutierrez was ordered to write a letter of apology and pay restitution to Pacific Rim Conservation, which conducts research at the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve.
Raymond Justice and Carter Mesker were also arrested for the killings. They were 17 when the crime occurred and were not identified in public court documents聽until later. Justice and Mesker鈥檚 cases are being decided confidentially through Family Court.
Deputy Prosecutor Janice Futa said聽the plea deal was arranged to get Gutierrez鈥檚 cooperation for testimony against the other defendants.
Up to 15聽albatrosses were slaughtered聽at Kaena Point on Dec. 28, 2015. In some cases their feet were cut off so that identification tags could be removed. Eggs were smashed, and bird monitoring equipment worth $3,000 was stolen.聽One bird was shot in the head with a .177 caliber air rifle pellet.
The seabirds are protected federally and internationally. are gentle, trusting birds about 3 feet tall that can live past 65 years.
Gutierrez is scheduled to be sentenced June 1, when he鈥檒l be back in Hawaii from New York University, where he is a sophomore. Gutierrez may also request to complete any probation in New York.
After the hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Janice Futa told reporters the plea deal was arranged to get Gutierrez鈥檚 cooperation for testimony against the other defendants.
Defense attorney Myles Breiner said聽Gutierrez was taking responsibility for his actions and may serve jail time. He declined to elaborate on what happened the night of the slaughter, but claimed Gutierrez wasn鈥檛 the most responsible of the co-defendants.
Biologists Lindsay Young and Eric VanderWerf, who聽conduct research at the sanctuary for Pacific Rim Conservation, also attended Thursday鈥檚 hearing.
Young, executive director of Pacific Rim Conservation, scoffed when Castagnetti announced Gutierrez was required to apologize and pay restitution to the non-profit. Clearly upset, she聽pulled Futa aside to speak聽after the hearing.
鈥淚t will take at least eight years to replace the breeding birds that were lost that night,鈥 Young told Civil Beat in November.
Gutierrez turned himself in to police almost a year after the killings. He was released on $25,000 bail.
The defendants bragged about the slaughter and聽showed off some of the birds’ identification tags. They聽posted pictures of the dead albatrosses to social media accounts, which were later removed.
Read Gutierrez’s plea deal below:
