FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Fort Lauderdale man is facing seven felony charges after video surveillance captured him repeatedly striking a rooster outside a local restaurant back in April, authorities confirmed.
Jail records show Marshall Houston May, 30, was arrested and charged with seven counts of causing cruel pain and suffering or death of an animal, after police said he intentionally struck the bird multiple times on April 21 in the parking lot of The Riverside Market Café, located at 608 SW 12th Ave.
Surveillance video from the café obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday shows May striking the rooster twice with a “blunt object” — which police say is believed to be a laptop or hard briefcase — and five more times with an umbrella.
The rooster tried to escape three times, but police say May chased it down and struck it again each time.
At one point, the force of a blow caused the rooster to “slide across the asphalt,” the report stated.
After the final strike, police said May returned his umbrella to his car and entered the restaurant, where he told a server what he had done and asked whether he should call the police.
Authorities said the server later identified May in a photo lineup and provided a sworn statement to investigators.
Police said Dr. Hannah Haussammann, a veterinarian at Welleby Veterinary Hospital, examined the injured rooster the next day.
She said the bird had multiple fractures in its left wing, a soft tissue injury on its left side, and was unable to bear weight on its left leg — indicating severe pain and suffering.
Haussammann said the injuries were consistent with “blunt force trauma” and with the bird sliding on its side across the pavement.
Authorities said May’s charges correspond to each of the seven documented strikes against the rooster.
He posted a $25,000 bond and was ordered not to possess any animals. May’s attorney told Local 10 News that he is expected to be released from jail on Tuesday night.
