A 19-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday in connection with the deaths of three federally protected seabirds at the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve.

Christian Gutierrez appeared in Circuit Court on animal cruelty charges. His trial has been set for the week of Feb. 27.

Gutierrez turned himself in Dec. 20 to the state Sheriff Division, where he was booked for 14 counts of second-degree animal cruelty, second-degree theft, entering a prohibited area, prohibited activities in a nature reserve and fourth-degree criminal property damage. He was released after posting $25,000 bail.

Gutierrez, a student at New York University, has been accused of killing three Laysan albatrosses and disturbing 15 nests at the seabird colony at the reserve in December 2015. Several seabirds were also reported missing.

The colony at Kaena Point is inhabited by approximately 400 Laysan albatrosses, which are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.