Highland teen accused of torturing and killing goose says he was 'hungry'

NEW YORK -- Michael Sebastian Vargas, one of two Highland teenagers accused of torturing and killing a wild goose, said he and Jarett Gonzalez were hungry, with no place to stay and no money to buy a meal.

“We didn’t want to be cruel to it (the goose),” Vargas said. “All we wanted to do was get something to eat.”

Vargas, 18, and Gonzalez, 16, were charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty on Saturday, according to Town of Lloyd police.

"They are accused of stoning the (goose) with rocks, then beating it with a wooden plank, stepping on it and cutting its head off," said Lt. James Janso via email.

Vargas, a recent Highland High School graduate, said he doesn’t live with his parents and had been staying with friends for the past month, Gonzalez among them. But Gonzalez “got kicked out” of his home, too, Vargas said.

The teens borrowed some fishing poles from a friend and went to a pond behind a small business plaza on Route 299.

“We used all the bait … we were fishing all day and only caught two small sunfish,” Vargas said.
As the two were walking away from the pond, “trying to find a place to sleep somewhere in the woods, we saw a flock of geese,” Vargas said. “We were going to try to kill it and cook it for food.”

Vargas grabbed a rock and threw it at the goose, which “stunned it,” he said, and Gonzalez threw a stick at it, but missed.

At that point, Gonzalez “stood on” the goose to hold it down, and Vargas cut its head off with a pocket knife, Vargas said. “We were taking it back to where we were going to cook it … with the fish” when police showed up, following up on a complaint from a business owner.

The teens “didn’t have” anything else they could use to kill the goose, Vargas said. “I would have loved to kill it way more humanely. We didn’t want to be cruel to it.”

Vargas said neither teen has a criminal record.

Before Vargas shared his side of the story, the Journal spoke with Kim McNamee, the senior humane law enforcement officer at the Dutchess County SPCA.

To charge an individual with felony animal cruelty in New York, "you need to be able to prove that (the act was) intended to cause extreme physical pain; or is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner,” McNamee said. Proving such an allegation can be difficult.

But in general, "I don't favor how reserved people are with charging" felony animal cruelty, McNamee said,

Vargas and Gonzalez were released on appearance tickets and are due in the Town of Lloyd Court Aug. 6. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, which assisted Lloyd police, also issued tickets to the teens.

Vargas said they have not secured legal counsel for their upcoming court date.

(Poughkeepsie Journal - July 27, 2015)

Earlier:

• Police: Highland teens tortured and killed wild goose