Local News, Public Safety
Second arrest made in Cedar Rapids duck killing
Posted on Nov 03, 2009 by admin.
Shayne Smalling
Police have arrested a second man in the killing of nearly 50 ducks at the Bever Park petting zoo last June.
Shayne Smalling, 19, of Twenty-nine Palms, Calif., was arrested Tuesday and charged with livestock abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor, and second-degree criminal mischief, a class D felony. Smalling turned himself in at the Cedar Rapids Police Department and was taken to the Linn County Jail.
Smalling is a member of the United States Marine Corps, but was not a Marine at the time of the incident, police said.
Smalling is the second person to be arrested in the case. Zachary Kanellis, 19, was arrested last month.
A park caretaker discovered vandalism at the zoo on June 25, 2008, and found the bodies of 50 ducks and geese, which had been beaten and stoned to death sometime the night before. The cages had been locked at about 5:30 p.m. June 24, and when workers arrived at about 7 a.m. June 25, they found the building lock had been broken as well as the lock on the cages.
GrandpaR
03. Nov, 2009
As part of their sentence, i'd make these scum bags maintain the duck encloser. Under supervision of course.
CR64
03. Nov, 2009
Two losers indeed!
Ann_Onamouse
03. Nov, 2009
This guy is in our armed services? How frightening.
A sentence that includes LONG term psych counseling is in order, before they turn thier eyes on bigger prey, like children.
Prplehaze
03. Nov, 2009
The up side is that the USMC will frown on him being a convicted felon, and not disclosing that criminal activity during his enlistment interviews.
mgcoleman
03. Nov, 2009
To be accurate (but definitely NOT in his defense), there is no potential for fraudulent enlistment. He is only required to disclose tickets/convictions/etc., not confess to all transgressions for which he hasn't been held accountable.
All the same and as a retired Marine, I fully expect the Marine Corps to take issue with this through some means.
23streets
03. Nov, 2009
Good posting. (I too do believe there should be punishment) After the punishment all should move on. Tnis sounds harsh. I have seen cows, chickens, pheasants all captive go to slaughter. There age and immaturity I bet is the reason for such poor choice. I know the ducks were in the zoo, I say lets focus on the thugs, The one guy is a Marine I say second chance. Thanks you Marines. If people only knew what war is truely like.
Prplehaze
03. Nov, 2009
You are correct but there is definitely a case for UCMJ to apply since he will have a felony conviction. That could and most likely will impact his enlistment in the Marines. I believe the command will have action to take under UCMJ even though it happened prior to his enlistment his conviction did not. UCMJ – Uniform Code of Military Justice.
lbym54
03. Nov, 2009
I hate to break the news to you, Ann. Killing is exactly what he is going to learn in the USMC.
AlohaCheri
03. Nov, 2009
Sorry but the purpose of the military is to DEFEND! Lives are lost infortuantely but it's in the name of freedom. You don't join the military to learn to kill. That is a totally ignorant response. He won't be long in the Marines now.
ctiger
04. Nov, 2009
What do you think they go to Iraq and Afghanistan for?. Hint: it's not to deliver flowers and candy.
AlohaCheri
04. Nov, 2009
You obviously are oblivious. My husband is a pilot, 21 years in the service and NEVER killed a soul AND he has been in the middle east. Did you know, and it's obvious you don't, that our military are not allowed to fire EVER, unless they are fired upon? That would not be the case if our mission was to kill people. Come on! Get educated!
Disengaging…
Mandelbrot
03. Nov, 2009
Seems he knew how already.
Ann_Onamouse
04. Nov, 2009
Well, as soon as war is declared on captive animals…
I don't particularly like the thought of someone like this being a representitive for the U.S.
AlohaCheri
04. Nov, 2009
He won't be for long!!
Carl_Spackler
03. Nov, 2009
Cowards. Unprovoked actions against defenseless animals are a true indication of these subjects' soul. Good luck finding a loving spouse and raising children.
Tyree_C
03. Nov, 2009
We have a metal tree in this city.
nelliefox
03. Nov, 2009
how many more of Zachs friends are going to turn themselves in? I agree with Granpa R, except it should be a lifetime sentence of cleaning it.
simplyput
03. Nov, 2009
These men need to be made examples of & charged to the fullest extent! They are 19 years old & know right from wrong. Violent criminals need to be held accountable!
ironhide
03. Nov, 2009
As most veterans and active duty personnel know, the military will deal with its own. Since he had no charges pending and stuff when he enlisted, he wasn't lying, but he should be dealt with along with this friends. the ducks where living creatures and were the property of the city or zoo, so thats animal abuse, criminal activity along with trespassing and breaking and entering the zoo. 23 streets, why do you have such a problem with someone caring about what happens to property and theses animals? And not all people in the service are criminals and thugs ether, so they aren't the only ones dying out there.
travesty76
03. Nov, 2009
Conduct unbecoming. At least he turned himself in. Shows that he still has some moral sense left, or gained after graduating boot camp. Best of luck to the muck of a duck!
NiRiON
04. Nov, 2009
This guy can't be too dumb afterall.
What a super good guy he is.
All the recent, present, and future news focuses on our boys in the military; some sad news along with the triumphant.
But – for this guy to join and have a picture looking like a Marine doesn't erase my memory of me crying when I read and seen photes about the defenseless animals.
I believe it is good if he gets a slap on the back and fights with the Marines and possibly becomes a hero for our country –
BUT, he'll need to answer to Someone else for what he helped to do; Marine , hero, or not !
ctiger
04. Nov, 2009
I totally agree with you. What they did was disturbing.
davefett
04. Nov, 2009
First, our military holds a much higher standard than what this loser has portrayed. The USMC will deal with him and with any luck he'll be drummed out with a dishonorable or general discharge. This is disturbing deviant behavior and our military most likely will not stand for it.
Second, turn this punk loose and let the public know where and when. We'll deal with him.
mgcoleman
04. Nov, 2009
The Marine Corps may not have any jurisdiction on this matter. They certainly have zero geographic jurisdiction and, if I am understanding the timeline correctly, he wasn't in the Marines at the time. The Marine Corps will be hard pressed to achieve anything close to a dishonorable discharge, but one likely approach would be to work him over from three angles: 1) pretrial confinement in the brig on the basis of his self-admitted act, 2) refer an Article 134 charge (General Article that specifically cites abuse of public animals) to a summary court martial and 3) pursued a good-of-the-service separation with a "other than honorable" discharge for him.
earthdog
04. Nov, 2009
Seems you're a little overeager. Vigilantism is no more admirable, than what those two did to the Ducks.
Bountyhunter
04. Nov, 2009
First off, none of us know these kids, and im gonna bet that they were only 18 when this happened since they didnt get caught until over a year later. Just because they killed some ducks dosent mean that they should deserve to be sentenced to life nelliefox, thats just ridicuolus because u can go get ur hunting license and shot all the ducks you want to. Now i understand that this is at a park/ zoo, and the charges they have now have probably really made them think anout the dumb choices they have made.
So I say that let them be, Zach im sure has learned his lesson by now since its been a while since he was arrested, but Shane still needs to sit down and think through all the dumb things he has done.
Even though Shane is a marine, he still should not fight with our forces. I know many Marines, and I know that they will NOT tolerate this kind of behavior.
khug09
09. Nov, 2009
I am a proud disabled USAF Veteran who served in both gulf wars. I am also a mother and reading your comments disturbs me. While you are sitting at your computer passing judgement, I'd like to remind you that these are two very young men, who were idiotic teenagers at the time of the crime. That does not negate the need for them to stand up like men and atone for their actions, but what if they were your children? Have all of you gone through life without wishing that you could take back a day? An action? A decision? I am truly glad that everyone is not judged by the decisions we make before we're old enough to buy a beer! I commend Shayne for coming forward and taking responsibility. He is proudly serving his country, and deserves to continue doing so. How many of you had nerve to sign a blank check to Uncle Sam payable with your life?
truthtocome
10. Nov, 2009
Amen – and none of them, as they all have nothing better to do than sit on a computer and pass judgment on everyone else.
Bud_Heavy
04. Nov, 2009
Tell your husband many of us are thankful of his service.
earthdog
04. Nov, 2009
You might want to explain that to all those Iraqis who had tens of thousands of casualties since we went there, with no provocation.
Convince them that all those women and children all had been shooting first.
davefett
04. Nov, 2009
So many US military haters but yet they all enjoy the freedoms our military provides and very few of them have ever had the spine to pick up a weapon and stand a post. I second Bud_Heavys comment regarding your husbands service.
AlohaCheri
04. Nov, 2009
Thank-you! I'll pass that alongl. He's so proud to serve our country and believes 100% in the USA. I'm glad some like you do as well.
AlohaCheri
04. Nov, 2009
Maybe some of these people down on the military would rather live in one of the countires that don't have the freedom to speech our country has. They don't realize how lucky they have it. 99.9% of people serving our country are honorable and very patriotic. This duck murderer is a true exception and does NOT reflect the average military member. He'll receive justice. Thanks for your comment! Have a great day!
ctiger
04. Nov, 2009
Let me explain to you, I am a member of a family who have sent members to serve in the military since WW2. The latest were my son and daughter who served in Iraq, where my son was awarded the Bronze Star.
Correct me if I'm wrong and you probably will, part of what our troops fight for, is freedom of expression.