A young man facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly killing three Laysan albatrosses at the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve a year ago is an emerging filmmaker who received national recognition for his artistic ability while attending Punahou School.
Christian Gutierre, 19, who has been released on $25,000 bail, is scheduled to make his initial court appearance in Circuit Court on Tuesday.
In January, state wildlife officials said the three federally protected birds were killed, several others were missing and 15 nests had been disturbed in the colony of albatrosses in the reserve. An initial police report said equipment, including cameras, was also missing.
While attending Punahou, Gutierrez founded Amber Blue Films and was among winners receiving recognition at Carnegie Hall in New York City in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition in 2013.
Gutierrez could not be reached for comment.
He was booked Tuesday by the state Sheriff’s office and faces 19 counts, including entering a prohibited area, second-degree theft, criminal property damage, and 14 counts of second-degree animal cruelty, according to court records.
The charges allege Gutierrez committed acts of animal cruelty on Dec. 27, 2015, according to court documents filed by the Honolulu Prosecutor’s office.
The 19 counts also include fourth-degree criminal property damage and a theft of property from Pacific Rim Conservation, a group that has helped in the removal a predators to protect native animal species at Kaena Point.
Laysan albatrosses are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and state wildlife rules. Some 400 live in the colony at Kaena Point.
State wildlife officials said a new colony may take decades to form, because female Laysan albatrosses take several years to reach breeding age and raise only one chick a year.
