wah moo poo.jpg

Three men were arrested by Springfield police Wednesday for illegally hunting in Forest Park. From left are Hsa Wah, Kehney Moo and Patty Poo, all of Springfield.

(Springfield police photos)

SPRINGFIELD - When three Thai immigrants were arraigned Thursday for an alleged wildlife killing spree in Forest Park, they needed more than lawyers.

They needed an interpreter.

Not a Thai interpreter - the men were originally from Myanmar, a war-wracked nation bordering on Thailand.

And not a Myanmar interpreter, either. The three defendants spoke Karen, the tribal language of less than 10 percent of that country's population.

No Karen interpreters were immediately available for Thursday's arraignment in Springfield District Court, so the defendant's got the next best thing: a phone hook up with a Karen speaker from somewhere outside of Greater Springfield.

"Hello, can you hear us?" Judge William Boyle asked at the beginning of the call.

"Can you hear us?" he said again before the interpreter - in a voice so faint it could have been coming from Myanmar - answered yes.



"Well, we can hardly hear you," the judge said.

Handcuffed and shackled, the three men stood by the judge's bench, leaning forward to hear the voice on the phone.

The defendants - Patty Poo, 54; Kehney Moo, 38; and Hsa Wah, 60, all of Springfield - are charged with using slingshots with rocks and lug nuts to kill wildlife around the park's Lilly Pond, a popular spot for families with children.

Bags containing dead turtles, frogs and birds were confiscated from the men Wednesday afternoon by police responding to 911 calls from people in the park.

All three are charged with cruelty to animals, hunting without a license and violating a city ordinance.

Held overnight in the Springfield police lockup, the men appeared in court in the same sandals, jeans and T-shirts they wore on their alleged hunting trip.

One man's shirt had "Forest Park" written on the back while another's read "Cool Story Babe. Pass the Remote."

For Boyle and assistant magistrate Robert L. Marino, the hearing was hardly business as usual. After struggling to establish a phone connection, their next task was identifying the defendants and matching them to the charges.



"Which one is Wah?" the judge asked.

Moments later, he wanted to know if defendant Kehney Moo spoke English.



"Just a little," Moo replied, according to the interpreter.

The judge told the defendants they could either hire a lawyer, be represented by a court-appointed lawyer, or represent themselves.

The men looked at each other.

"What should we do?," one asked, according to the interpreter.

It was unclear whether he was seeking advice from the interpreter, the clerk or the judge.

By that point, the hearing had stretched to 20 minutes, long enough for five arraignments. In the gallery, a dozen defendants waited for their turn before the judge.

Boyle decided to continue the case to June 11 so a Karen interpreter can be present in the courtroom.

A prosecutor did not request for cash bail, but recommended barring the defendants from Forest Park while their case is pending.

In response, the judge ordered the men to stay out of all public parks in Springfield.