Jurames Goulart won’t be getting back any of the finches he allegedly kept at his Ripton Road home – the birds Shelton police said were part of a finch fighting ring that stretched across several states.
On Monday, Goulart and his attorney waived his right to a hearing to get the birds back, leaving their future to the discretion of the courts.
“Now the state is free to take appropriate actions,” said John Robert Gulash, an attorney out of Bridgeport who is representing Goulart on the animal cruelty and gambling charges.
“They are looking to place the birds with appropriate animal care institutions,” Gulash said.
Goulart was one of the several men arraigned in Derby Superior Court Monday morning to face the charges.
Shelton police arrested 19 men — many of whom speak little English — on July 26 at Goulart’s Ripton Road home. Police said the men were about to start a fight between two finches when they raided the home early that morning. They confiscated about 150 birds, bird food, bird antibiotics and vitamins, as well as multiple cages.
On Monday, the men and some of their family members sat shoulder to shoulder in several rows, waiting to be called. When the Portuguese interpreter asked them to come outside the courtroom so she could explain their rights to them, the courtroom almost cleared out.
Some of the men had their own attorneys. Others used public defenders.
All the men arraigned Monday waived their rights to make claims for any of the birds and also agreed to allow “secondary evidence,” such as pictures of the birds, to be used if the case ends up at a trial. The two moves help the court move faster to find homes for the birds, instead of keeping them under the custody of the state Department of Agriculture.
Since July 26, the Department of Agriculture has held the 150 birds in an undisclosed facility, awaiting direction from the court.
“We’re waiting to hear from the court to direct us how to dispose of this evidence, whether it’s adoption or something else,” said Wayne Kasacek, the assistant director of the Department of Agriculture’s Regulation and Inspection Bureau. “We need to know how to legally proceed.”
Kasacek said that about four of the birds had severe eye injuries from the fighting, and might need to be put down. But until the court gives specific orders, the Department of Agriculture hasn’t euthanized any of the birds yet, Kasacek said.
Only a few people have called the department looking to adopt some of the birds, Kasacek said.
In court, each of the men arrested (click here for a list) had his case continued until Sept. 1, at which time they are scheduled to enter pleas.
Gulash, Goulart’s attorney, declined to comment on how he expected Goulart to plea or on any of the details of the case.
