2 teenagers plead not guilty to stealing alpaca from southwest Ohio farm and killing it

2 Ohio teens plead not guilty in alpaca slaying

HAMILTON, Ohio — Two teenagers have pleaded not guilty to stealing a 3-month-old alpaca from an Ohio farm and beating it to death.

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

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

Alpacas are llama-like animals valued for their soft fleece.

The one that was killed was taken in the winter from a farm in Butler County, in southwest Ohio. It was valued at $8,000.

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.