Trial date set for man accused of assaulting parrot in Ann Arbor
A Jackson man accused of violently shaking a parrot on an Ann Arbor street is scheduled stand trial on Feb. 28, court records show.
Christopher Alan Turpen, 49, faces one count of animal torture for the Sept. 21 incident in which he allegedly shook the parrot violently while walking near South Main Street just before 9 p.m.
He was ordered to stand trial following testimony from eyewitnesses at a preliminary hearing in October who said they saw a man hitting the bird several times and twisting its body.
The Amazon parrot recovered and is temporarily with the Humane Society of Huron Valley.
Turpen remains free on bond and is prohibited from owning or caring for any animals while the case is pending. He faces up to four years in prison, if convicted.
Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
Viki
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 2:10 a.m.
Richard Watkins, seek help.
RJA
Fri, Jan 14, 2011 : 1 a.m.
Well, if you removed my comment due to poor taste, this sick man left a bads taste in my mouth!
richard watkins
Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 9:28 a.m.
Like everything else wrong with this community, and as so many alert annarbor.com readers have previously noted in regards to everything from parks and recreation to the Argo Dam controversy, the blame in this sorry incident lies squarely with the Obama Administration. I am talking about the unforeseen consequences of meddlesome bureaucrats and their pernicious culture of imposing needless government regulations on a free market. Had there not been leash laws, why, this parrot might even now be winging its merry way back to the sanguine, peaceful shores of the Amazon estuary, where it could live out its projected 100 year lifespan in an atmosphere of martial arts dancing, bikini wax, thongs and rum. I, for one, am more than happy to pay $1,200 a week, for years if necessary, to maintain this infamous miscreant in the warm confines of the Washtenaw County Jail, where he now occupies one of the long-vacant bunks reserved for the county's armed robbers. Simply because no armed robbers have been apprehended during the current Kondratiev long-wave economic cycle does not, after all, mean their cells should go begging. Waste not, want not, whatever The Left thinks.
Killroy
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 2:44 p.m.
Abusing animals isn't funny. It is downright sad and terrible. Leash your dog.
rusty shackelford
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:42 p.m.
I'm surprised my comment hasn't been deleted for blaming the victim...
ezbngreen
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:28 p.m.
So the parrot talked and now he is a Stool pigeon
Tom Joad
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:22 p.m.
What a dumb-bell...the parrot squawked to the police
Dixie
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:06 p.m.
The article says there were eyewitnesses, and I wonder what they did to stop him. I can't imagine why anyone would do that to an animal. I'm sure if I were there I would have been all over him. I'm 65, but I'm not dead.
rusty shackelford
Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 10:44 a.m.
I'm sure the parrot had it coming. You know, probably mouthing off.