Newport Beach tree mowed down, egrets and night heron nestlings killed

[MisterP]

Stephen John Esser, 47, of Dana Point and David Roger Stanley, 40, of Downey have each been charged with misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, unlawful possession and destruction of bird nests or eggs, unlawful taking of migratory nongame birds and harassing a bird or mammal, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office.
...
Neighbors approached the two men to tell them not to cut down the tree because of the nests, but they continued to cut it down. About 12 nestlings fell from the tree, and five did not survive.

Days later, about 75 people attended a curbside memorial service for the birds that died or were displaced by the removal of the tree. People brought flowers and candles and listened to “Amazing Grace,” performed by a local guitarist and saxophone player.

“This was a brutal and willful crime against wildlife,” Shelley Ervin, one of the neighbors who organized the vigil, said. “We hope that the men who committed this terrible crime are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and made an example of.”

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tree-672129-birds-beach.html
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-men-charged-tree-with-baby-birds-20150716-story.html

[dhill926]

1. assholes....

[niyad]

2. in addition to jail time (assuming they ever get any), the full cost of the medical care, etc.,

should be part of their sentence.