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BY ANGELA DAIDONE
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
A 67-year-old Randolph man, who was accused of shooting his pet African grey parrot to death last year, was arraigned earlier this week after an animal cruelty indictment was returned against him by a Morris County grand jury in Morristown.
Prosecutors will make a plea offer by next month to Dennis Zeglin, who was accused of shooting the bird because the creature's squawking annoyed him as he watched NASCAR.
Defense attorney Stephen Fletcher said he will turn over Zeglin's psychological and medical records to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Fletcher said he believes that Zeglin is a candidate for the county's Pre-Trial Intervention program, under which a first-time offender serves a period of probation and has to meet other special conditions before dismissal of criminal charges.
The indictment charges Zeglin with a third-degree offense, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Fletcher said that Zeglin was intoxicated last June 7 when he shot Mikey, a 20-year-old parrot, three times in its cage with a Daisy Powerline Model 93, CO2-powered BB gun.
Police arrived at the house following a call from Zeglin's wife, who found the bird dead.
