Ohio teens plead not guilty in alpaca slaying

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — Two teenagers have pleaded not guilty to charges they stole a 3-month-old alpaca from a southwest Ohio farm and beat it to death.

Court officials said 17-year-old Nicholas Reynolds and 18-year-old Marcus Miller, both of the Middletown area, entered the pleas today in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

Each have been charged with breaking and entering, grand theft, tampering with evidence, vandalism and cruelty to animals.

The alpaca named Masterpiece was valued at $8,000. It was taken this past winter from a farm in Butler County.

Miller was 17 at the time of his arrest. Both teens had been charged as juveniles until a judge last month ordered the cases transferred to adult court.