Emporia Police took less than four weeks to arrest suspects in connection with the June 22 vandalism and killings of four birds at the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia.
Three juveniles — two 11-year-olds and one 13-year-old — were arrested Friday and accused of killing two black swans and two cereopsis geese in the after-hours incident at the zoo.
The trio also has been charged with burglary and criminal damage to property. They are accused of breaking into the zoo’s locked exhibit area and breaking or damaging a number of flower containers, according to an earlier report of the incident.
The 13-year-old also is charged with driving without a valid driver’s license.
Emporia Police Deputy Chief Mike Williams said he was not surprised that the case had been resolved.
“I felt all along this would be brought to a conclusion,’ Williams said. “It was just a matter of time until somebody started talking about the situation. ... We’re pleased, needless to say.”
Williams said that information often becomes available later, from citizens and Crime Stoppers, particularly in high-profile crimes such as the zoo incident, which was well-known throughout the area and was disseminated through media outside Emporia, as well.
He said that police were investigating other burglaries when information about the zoo crimes surfaced.
Officers investigated and interviewed youngsters during the late evening hours on Thursday and continuing into Friday.
Charges were filed in Lyon County Juvenile Court this morning against one of the youngsters. The other two suspects are expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
All of the youngsters are being held in a detention center, said Assistant Lyon County Attorney Rebecca L. Gerhardt. All will have detention hearings.
“They’ll have an opportunity to enter a plea at that point,” she said.
Gerhardt said that affidavits in the cases have been sealed.
Because the accused are juveniles, a broad range of sentencings could be imposed if any or all of them are convicted of the allegations.
Gerhardt said that among the possibilities are in-home probation, out-of-home probation, or in custody placement in a juvenile correction facility. The latter could be imposed until the child is 22 1/2 years of age.
“Community service work itself is always an option in juvenile cases,” Gerhardt said.
Because of the ages of the juveniles, no further information will be released.
Comments
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Posted by scripta (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lock'em up!
Posted by Mommy_15 (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 2:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Where are these children's parents? The whole thing makes me SICK!!! I was upset to hear the incident even happened and now I am even more upset to hear that it was children who killed these defenseless animals. I think the parents of these children should also be held accountable.
Posted by sciguy (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The police and community should keep an eye on these "children" from now on. Cruelty to animals is one rung on the ladder toward serial killer.
Posted by Iloveemporia (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 3 p.m. (Suggest removal)
let'em go!
Posted by Pollyanna (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WOW. I'm really surprised the culprits are so young. Two of them are 11 years old? It's so sad to me that this violence was at the hands of truly children. I do know that showing violence to animals is a sign of instability and is indicative of violence as adults. If found guilty, these young people do deserve punishment but I also hope they get some sort of therapy before we hear more reports about them in the next 10 years.
Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 3:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Iloveemporia: "let 'em go"? I hope you were attempting to be funny because if you think what they did was right and they should not be punished, then you are as demented and void of common sense as those screwed-up kids are.
Posted by puddin4 (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
True this is a terable thing, and the kids should have approprate punishment. However, locking them up ..puting them on extended probation. I dont think so! You make the "killings" sound like people. They are not!! They are animals. We kill animals every day for food, etc. Dole out a reasonable punishment and move on.
Posted by Iloveemporia (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 3:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
bj those screwed up kids belong to u and yes let them idiots go cause i am sick of having to raise them types of screw ups with my tax money. money that should be spent on the school district and not at some place that makes kids like this hate the world more to become rapist and killers when they get out.
Posted by citizen (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 3:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have to disagree with puddin4. These children drove a car, broke into the Zoo and killed these animals. This was thought out. Which tell me that that they could think of something even worse that could injure a person. I hope these children spend every day after school cleaning all the 'poo' in the animals cages including the buffalo.
Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
yeah !!
Posted by abc123 (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 4:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Do parents ever get fined in a situation like this? I mean obviously they didn't do it during daylight hours so they were out late at night most likely when their parents or gaurdians should know where they were. Children that young still need structure and guidance at all hours! Fine the parents and if they are too poor to pay it then lock them up for a little reminder to take better care of their kids. This is just shameful. It really is scary to think of what they would be capable of now if they just get a slap on the wrist.
Posted by emporialifer (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 4:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is somewhat bittersweet. On the one hand I am so thankful that the culprits were caught and can now be punished appropriately, but on the other hand it saddens me that it was in fact children that did this. 11 year olds found killing innocent, helpless animals entertaining? That is just frightening. I think these kids need more than just a little community service to realize the error in their ways - they somehow need to learn to respect life and I agree with Polly - a little therapy now might help before something bigger and much worse happens later. sciguy is right.
Posted by nks (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 4:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
These 11 and 13 year olds had enough "maturity" to plan out this attack, then they should be held accountable as well as their parents.
I am not saying throw the book at them, but etting them off easy shows them nothing. Kind of like how "time out" is supposed to cure our children instead of the way we were shown we did something wrong.
At the age of 11 and 13, if they are commiting crimes of this nature, it only spells out larger, more violent crimes in the future.
Posted by lewisbailbonds (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 5:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I say "NO DEALS" FOR THESE KIDS...THIS IS A HORRIFIC CRIME..UNPROVOKED...THE ENTIRE EMPORIA COMMUNITY ARE VICTIMS....THESE KIDS NEED TO BE LOCKED UP AND COUNSELED..AT LEAST TILL THEY ARE ADULTS,,CUZ I DO AGREE WITH MOST ON HERE THAT THIS WILL LEAD TO BIGGER CRIMES IN THE FUTURE..I HAD A JUDGE SAY TO ME ONE TIME THAT WHEN A CHILD STARTS OUT STEALING BICYCLES..THEY EVENTUALLY STEAL CARS..THIS HAS PROVEN TO BE TRUE...SO WHEN YOU KILL ANIMALS..YOU EVENTUALLY WELL YOU ALL KNOW WHERE I AM HEADING WITH THAT STATEMENT.....LET THE LYON COUNTY ATTORNEYS' OFFICE DO THEIR JOB...WE WILL ALL BE WATCHING THE OUTCOME OF THIS CASE....
Posted by create (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am astounded at the ages of these kids. I agree with nks. These kids must be held accountable for these crimes, and they must be punished, but no easy frilly time-outs. Their parents too must be held accountable. Didn't anyone realize their car was gone?
In-home probation is just another word for time-out. This should not be considered at all because it is all too apparent that their parents or guardians had no control of these kids. Why would they now? What's in-home probation? Video games? Television? Home-cooked meals? Cell phones? No way. These kids are undisciplined little rogues. On top of that, their parents need to be tested for drug use.
I'm glad they're in detention. I'm wondering whether these kids belong to some kind of gang and that what they did was some kind of membership requirement.
Sorry Iloveemporia, but there is a certain amount of your tax money that is set aside for law enforcement. If you're sick and tired of letting your tax dollars raise these little monsters, then I suggest you install bars on all your windows and doors because that's the world we're looking at if we just let kids like this go.
Posted by meanmom (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 5:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
When and how will they learn? Do we know if these kids are troublemakers at school? Do we know if they had babysitters because their parents work at night? Do we know all the facts? Right now, all that matters is a car was stolen, a zoo was broken into and animals that hurt no one were killed. Not for food. Not for sport. Not for any logical reason, just blatantly slaughtered out of pure D meanness. Make sure they know the conquences for their actions
Posted by YaHooSis48 (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 5:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh my! Such saddness! I don't believe anything was more beautiful than the black swans. This was a planned,heartless,cruel, perverse "murder of helpless animals"! Watch out for these kids. It appears there conscious is already seared. They feel nothing. The parents are obviously some I spoke of earlier who should not be allowed to have pets, let alone children. This is a very serious crime and should be punished to the fullest degree of the law. My fear is that they will get off scott free. I do very much believe that the parents should be fined and held responsible as well due to the age of the children. Where the heck are the parents. (Don't make me laugh; however, if these kids are on probation at home, I doubt very much they will receive any 'home cooked' meals)!
Posted by gazette_reader (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 6:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I know we don't know the whole story. I know it's entirely possible that one kid was the ringleader, and the other kids just went along. But still...wow. Just...wow.
Posted by hogan77 (anonymous) on July 21, 2008 at 6:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Such a terrible tragedy that our youth has resorted to breaking into a zoo and killing helpless, innocent animals. I believe that their punishment should be appropriate for the crime. Do not treat them any differently because they are "children". Age means nothing when you go from an young child to acting out like a cruel adult. I certainly hope that their parents are ashamed of themselves. A child is only as good as you raise it. Evidentially, the parents went wrong somewhere in their master plan.
Posted by mammawd (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh how sad! I agree - WHERE ARE THESE KIDS' PARENTS? This is a situation where the parents should be held responsible as well as the kids! These kids should have to volunteer (under very guarded conditions) at the zoo until they reach adulthood. They should get the nastiest jobs available. When they are done there everyday they can start working their way down Commercial St. cleaning up trash, pulling weeds, cleaning windows...etc.., when they are so tired they can't move then they can move on to cleaning up the local parks...or does anyone around here still haul hay? In the winter I'm sure there will be snow to shovel off the sidewalks. They need to write a public letter of apology to the City of Emporia! I don't think juveniles should be protected by not releasing their names! Too bad! How many kids have they bullied at school and everyone looked the other way? Are these the kids that walk through our public areas and use their profane language and pull stuff off the shelves at the stores? It's time for this to stop! I see kids everyday during the school year gadding around DURING SCHOOL HOURS and LATE AT NIGHT... isn't there a law...why doesn't anyone question them? Now things like this happen! What's next? It's time for us to take back the night!! It's time for us to take back Emporia! Killing is wrong! Stealing is wrong! Bullying is wrong! My 3 year old grandchildren know this...I'm sure 11 year olds and 13 year olds know it too! Children live what they learn.
Posted by hottopics (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 9:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We cant always point the finger at the parents. I know that there are great parents out there with kids who choose to make bad decisions. When kids of this age do such acts I feel it is a TRYING TO FIT IN and act big and bad and show nerve and stupidity in the end.
Remember the saying...If he jumped off the bridge would you jump too?
Its a very sad situation and hopefully these parents had their rude awakening. But before we start tearing the parents apart the whole story needs to come out.
Posted by Walts37 (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Emporia residents are not the only victim's in this tragedy. I live in the s/w Missouri Ozarks and never miss going to the Emporia Zoo when i visit the area. I do have a home movie from last October 30 with a 5 minute look at the black swans that I will now only see in my home movie. I will still visit the zoo when in Emporia to visit relatives but will miss these great birds. We have and do make donations to the Emporia zoo with several relatives names and my moms name is soon to be added to the Name boards.
Posted by Maximus (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think 1,000 hours at the zoo shoveling animal feces would be a start for punishment (after doing some time in juvenile hall, of course). Or, better yet, let's put the two in a cage at the zoo, so that we can harass and berate them....heck, throw their parents in, too!
Posted by mammawd (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The whole story will probably not ever be known as this is a juvenile case and will most likely be sealed. It also depends on who the kids are....
3 kids involved and not ONE of them stopped and said "Hey, this is not right! I'm outta here!" There is a limit to the peer pressure motive.. I don't buy that as an excuse. I do know that regardless of how hard some parents try sometimes the kid just travels the wrong path but I also know that there are always "signs"! So hottopic you're saying the parents can't be held responsible and the kids were just trying to be tough guys...so just let everyone walk away with no reprocussions? I don't think so!!!! That's alot of the problem now is that we've let people off too often for too long.
Posted by LifeGoesOn (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 11:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This senseless act of violence didn't start on the day of this Zoo Killing. This violence began in the lives of most, it not all, of these children and other teenagers many years before. For someone to be so lacking in love and compassion for a fellow creature, they had to have been desensitized to feeling the pain and suffering they were causing the birds. We're not told, but they may even have been desensitized to the point that they were even getting some morbid pleasure from seeing this innocent birds suffer and die. They may even have had a sense of power through the act.
We sanitize violence by lovingly telling our children to go and watch television, where even our cartoons are filled with violence. In many of these cartoons, violence is presented in such a way as to appear "funny". We put smiling animal pictures on the packaging and advertising of meat and dairy products to make us "believe" that the animals actually "like" to go through the suffering and death that brings them to our tables, and we praise our children for eating them, and rarely is a word of remorse spoken for the animal that suffered or died. We implant the message, "It's good to kill.
The question that few in our society want to face, or much less address, is, "When does this sanitized violence in our society become real violence in the lives of our children? When does this violence begin to escalate?" We are systematically Shooting Ourselves in the Foot, and I'm afraid far too many of us are enjoying it.
Posted by jcwhit232 (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I also feel that it should be considered on how these poor birds were killed. They weren't just killed, they were brutaly murdered. What sick mind can inflict pain on another living thing like those boys did?
Posted by mammawd (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LifeGoesOn, Let's not make this situation into a "vegetarian" debate or a TV/Video Game debate. This has nothing to do with either one. My family eats meat AND we watch TV and none of my children have murdered any person or animal, bullied anyone, been arrested for drugs or alcohol, beat up anyone, shot a gun, etc. Maybe I'm just lucky but I like to think it's because we talked to our kids, we listened to our kids, we didn't take our kids to church and school activities...we WENT WITH THEM!
There is no excuse for this!
Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LifeGoesOn: You make valid points about children needing the benefit of parental guidance in their lives. However, your suggestion that it is wrong for humankind to consume meat is way off the mark. Humans have eaten meat since the cavemen without the problems you describe. Ergo, I think that it is reasonable to suggest that the source of the problem lies elsewhere. You may choose to abstain from meat if you wish, but I believe that you are being unreasonable in implying that those of us who do are somehow wrong and contributing to the senseless and horrible acts of killing animals in a zoo.
Posted by dpope (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I've read a few of these comments saying the parents the parents. Well yeah in away it is the parents fault as far as not knowing where their children are. Again though we all have done stupid things as far as sneaking out of the house when our parents are sleeping. So yeah these kids should have a punishment and whatever the judge decides is probably going to be the right punishment because what they did was completely sick and they do need some help for whatever they were thinking. The parents though shouldn't always be held accountable. If any of your kids were to do it and snuck out at night would you like it when they started pointing fingers at you because you didnt know where your kids were. When in reality you were sleeping like most parents do when their kids should be doing the same thing.
Posted by Pollyanna (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe I'm reading the comments from LifeGoesOn incorrectly but I didn't see anywhere he/she advocating not eating meat. I think the point is the glamorization of violence that pervades nearly every aspect of our kids' lives. This de-sensitaztion and acceptance of all these images can have truly harmful effects to young impressionable children. I'm not trying to blame this act solely on the media..it's one piece of a larger problem.
The whole situation is very sad and unfortunate and I hope all three youth feel deep regret and guilt for taking these 4 birds lives.
Posted by Mommy_15 (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I believe the parents should be held responsible because they obviously did not instill the knowledge of how to determine the difference between right and wrong and the value of life. I am not saying that kids don't sneak out at night. I snuck out a couple of times but I also knew not to do anything stupid or I would get my butt beat. My parents taught me right from wrong and taught me the value of life and if I ever strayed from what I knew was right there would be consequences to face. I realize parents can't keep an eye on there children 24/7 but they can make sure that they know right from wrong!!!
Posted by emporialifer (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 1:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I can understand the argument about not fully blaming the parents because I, too, know some great parents who have simply had a child go down the wrong path, and no matter what those parents did, nothing helped. Because of that I can understand how parents cannot necessarily know where their kids are at all times (sneaking out, etc.); however, if these parents do not punish their kids on top of whatever the system hands down, that is when I think they are doing them a huge disservice. My problem with some parents these days is that they will take their child's side no matter what they did and defend them until the end instead of admitting their child made a mistake and should be punished and supporting the law, teachers, etc. rather than supporting their child who was in the wrong.
Posted by mythoughts (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 2:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
These kids are about the same ages as the ones caught vandalizing a car last month. Can you tell me this is not somehow gang related?
A co-worker saw teens on bikes last week on 6th Ave. knocking the traffic cones into the open lanes--by the time the police were called they were long gone.
Shine a spotlight on roaches and they scramble away, I say.
Posted by abc123 (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 3:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Is there a curfew for youth in Emporia? What is the fine or punishment for violating it? I see young...very young...kids in my neighborhood all the time late at night. Just curious.
Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 3:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't know if gangs are involved or just puberty. From working with the public, I learned that kids that age will do the stupidest stuff. I think the hormones overrides the brain or something! BUT that said, to steal a car, climb a fence, trash property then beat poor caged birds to death speaks of a deeper problem. These boys obviously have no compassion. That must be learned at a very young age. I wonder what else they've gotten into that they weren't punished for? "Boys will be boys" is a convenient excuse for bad behavior that doesn't fly anymore. I hope they keep these kids in detention long enough to give them a bad scare then make them do community service until they hopefully learn better respect for others' property.
Posted by kcfan (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
glad KVOE released their names. Now I know who NOT to let me kids hang out with
Posted by create (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 7:08 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by LifeGoesOn (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 7:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
mammawd & jayhawker,
I may have been misunderstood in my earlier post, I have nothing against eating meat or killing of animals for a source of food. I was only using examples to show how we as a society do not show our children that this kind of act is bad. All I am saying is, Teach by example; parents should use real-life situations to instill a sense of respect for all life. Invite your child to help you feed the birds or rescue a bug. With older children, discuss animal-cruelty cases publicized in the news. Encourage children to speak up for animals.
mammawd, I do not intend to make this situation into a "vegetarian" debate or a TV/Video Game debate, There is no debate there. Children become what they live, see and hear. I say this act is all our fault (society) There is killing and cruelty in all aspects of our children’s lives, on TV,Radio,the streets, friends, home life, etc. and there is No Way you will convince me that this does not affect how SOME children will think and act.
Should these kids be punished? Yes. I will leave that up to the courts, it is not for me to say.
Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 10:23 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 1:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LifeGoesOn: As a dedicated lover of animals (as my annual vet bills will bear witness), I agree completely with teaching children to respect animals. I was confused about your comments concerning having the children help with feeding birds and rescuing bugs. Since birds eat bugs, I got lost in there somewhere. Additionally, I think that killing bugs is probably not a sign of animal cruelty. I suspect that, even though it is totally inconsistent with their stated policies, PETA members probably kill mosquitoes, roaches and ticks. Thanks for clearing up my misconstruction of your earlier post in which I thought that you were accusing us carnivores of contributing to animal cruelty.
Posted by hogan77 (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 3:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My question in all of this is... how can one NOT know where their children are at night? The excuse of being at work is not acceptable. In that case, how can the sitter not know where the children are? If they are being left at home alone while parents work, something should be done about that, child in need of care. Thirteen is not an acceptable age to be left alone, all night long. Fourteen or fifteen, I could see that. The child is growing more into maturity than a thirteen year old is. Period. And, you can tell by this whole ordeal, that they obviously were not mature enough to be left home alone.
Posted by LifeGoesOn (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 5:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
jayhawker, I am sorry you are confused about the comment. I'll try to make my point as clear as possible so you can understand it, I didnt think it was that hard but I understand how some read into things more than is there.
Teach children early in life that ALL life is important, this includes things like feeding birds, turning loose a beetle after catching it instead of just letting it die in a jar two days later. Let a turtle go free after the child has had a chance to examine it for a while. Dont kill a snake just because its a snake. That sort of thing. Teaching children respect for life starts when they are young, they have a better chance in life to be someone worth respecting.
Posted by create (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 7:12 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by create (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My apologies to everyone. Since the names and addresses of the kids arrested were already published on the KVOE website, I figured it would be okay to share it here. I was wrong and I wish to apologize for any problems that may have occurred as a result.
Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks, LifeGoesOn. Your children are getting very good lessons to help them in life. Respecting life, in all its forms, is God's work.
Posted by nutsaboutools (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Citizen's got the best idea. Put them to work cleaning the zoo. I also think their parents should be required to "clean" with them. Maybe next time the parents would be more inclined to be responsible for their children. I definitely agree that these "children" need to do some serious community service (also to keep them busy, apparently they couldn't find anything constructive to do).
Posted by seeya32 (anonymous) on July 23, 2008 at 1:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
why would the names have been removed from this website??Judging by the names I saw elsewhere,too bad their famlies didnt get caught in the Tyson layoff and they couldve been some other towns problem.We are NOT going to fix society until we fix our problems here at home(Emporia) and the hard matter of fact,IBP/Tyson has cost our community FAR more than it has contributed back to our town.Things are getting better around here but we have a long way to go.Tyson still up to theis same old **** **** biz!! My friend who worked there for 30 plus years got laid off but recently got called back,went from 1st shift to graveyard shift and cut wage by $1.50 ph.Back in the 70s when IBP pulled that bs wage cutting is when Emporia should have never gave them any help whatsoever.Get rid of Tyson completely and I bet most problems will cease such as stealing car and killing geese,but some lawyers and court service programs will probably get cut cos they wont have as many scimbags to represent
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