Michael A Haber PA Criminal DUI Defense Litigation Miami Blog

Fraternities and Flamingos / Pledges and Lemmings / Courts, Cops and Curators...

Props to the University of Southern Mississippi for indefinitely suspending the Delta Mu Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) Fraternity as well as 19 y/o pledge / student Devin Nottis for all of their (the Chapter's collective and Devin's individual) stupidity in connection with a burglary of the Hattiesburg Zoo which resulted in the death of two Flamingos.  

The fraternity claims that it had instructed it's pledge class to engage in a "scavenger hunt" which, in part, required Devin to secure a picture of a Flamingo from the zoo.  Devin, dope that he is, went to the zoo at 1:08am, jumped a fence, unlawfully entered the zoo well after hours and then actually took a Flamingo instead of taking a picture of a Flamingo.

Police report that the Flamingo was recovered several miles away, not too long afterward, and zoo officials report that the same Flamingo (a female) had to be euthanized because of injuries sustained at dopey Devin's hands and during her abduction.  Further, a male Flamingo also died, allegedly having suffered terminal injuries while chivalrously efforting at defending its mate during the course of her abduction.

What I do not understand is why Devon is only being charged with grand theft when this is a classic burglary (the breaking and entry of the property of another without consent and with the intent to commit a crime therein), not to fail to mention the blatant, resultant and foreseeable aggravated animal cruelty (resulting in deaths).

In this case grand theft stands in lieu of kidnapping (you cannot kidnap a non-human... although in my opinion abduction of an animal which is in the care and control of a human should be actionable as a sub-crime of kidnapping) and homicide also requires the unlawful taking of a human life (although, again, there is no apparent legal barrier to levying aggravated animal cruelty charges in this case).

Memo to fraternity / sorority pledges:  I know that kids will be kids, and I too did some stupid stuff when I pledged back in the day (although as I recall, while there was no lack of brainless crap the closest thing to a criminal act involved eating live goldfish), but you are not lemmings, you are people.  Outside of prison there is no organization worth joining which requires you to compromise your future or your freedom.

Memo to Devin Nottis:  Stupid is as stupid does.  I hope that you learn a lesson and that you use this experience to become a better person tomorrow than that which you were yesterday.  Still, in my utopia that make Flamingo should have kicked your stupid ass right outta his pen.