Man convicted of beating pet bird

Deepa Bharath

A 53-year-old Costa Mesa man on Tuesday was convicted of punching his

pet macaw and slamming him against his boat.

Anthony James Ellis, a member of the Newport Beach Elks Club,

faces up to three years in state prison. He was found guilty on two

felony counts of animal cruelty and animal abuse.

Several Elks Club members saw Ellis hit the bird on his boat,

which was docked at the club, officials said.

Ellis grabbed the bird named Johnny by the legs, held him upside

down and struck him repeatedly with a closed fist, according to the

police report.

He then slammed the bird headfirst into the floor of the boat,

officials said. Newport Beach police officers arrested him about 30

minutes after the incident occurred.

Police also determined that Ellis was intoxicated at the time of

his arrest. Officials had found six empty beer cans in the boat’s

trash can.

Ellis, who is still free on bail, had consistently denied that he

had deliberately hurt his pet. He claimed that he was drunk, that the

bird started biting him and that he simply reacted to the pain and

acted in self defense. Neither Ellis nor his attorney, William

Randall, were available for comment on Wednesday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Nicole Nicholson said she was happy with the

jury’s decision.

“This man exerted a tremendous amount of rage on an innocent

animal, which can’t report a crime or fight back,” she said.

Although Ellis was a fellow Elk, four members testified during the

trial because they were deeply affected by what they saw, Nicholson

said.

“They testified because it made them sick to their stomach,” she

said.

The macaw suffered a fractured leg, a broken beak and a swollen

spleen, Nicholson said.

The bird is now with an adoptive family, she said. Ellis had asked

for the bird to be returned to him, but his request was not granted,

Nicholson said.

This is “an extremely rare case,” she said.

“It’s unique in that it’s very shocking,” Nicholson said.

Ellis is expected to be sentenced on June 11 in Harbor Justice

Center. Nicholson said it is rare for judges to give prison time in

such cases.

“But we’re definitely going to ask for jail time because of the

horrific nature of the crime,” she said.