Tag: eagle killed

Texas man sentenced for killing bald eagle

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brown and white eagle on leafless tree

A Houston-area man is headed to federal prison for shooting and killing a bald eagle. A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas, said 43-year-old Santos Guerrero pleaded guilty on May 14. He was sentenced in August to 14 days behind bars and must also pay a $5,000 fine. In an email to NBC 5, Guerrero’s attorney Luis Baez wrote, “Mr. Guerrero is a hard-working, local business owner, and proud family man.

He accepted responsibility before Judge Gray and is looking forward to closing the case. The Government asked the Court for 30 days in jail, 1 year of federal probation, and a $9,500.00 fine. After hearing from both sides, Judge Bray sentenced him to 15 days with a $5,000.00 fine.” Texas Game Wardens were the first to learn about the shooting. In October 2024, a concerned citizen reported seeing a bald eagle that had been shot in Montgomery County. Texas Game Wardens responded and investigated, ultimately locating the injured eagle hidden beneath a tarp in Guerrero’s garage.

Veterinarians later euthanized the eagle because of the severity of its injuries. Texas Game Wardens turned over the case to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for further investigation and prosecution. In May, Guerrero admitted he shot the bald eagle at his residence. At the hearing in August, the court heard additional evidence that Guerrero shot the eagle in his backyard on Oct. 11, 2024, hid it in his garage, and later lied to authorities.

The court also reviewed video footage documenting the eagle before the shooting and its subsequent discovery. A necropsy determined that the bullet significantly damaged the eagle’s wing. The fall also caused liver fractures, internal bleeding, and a fractured leg. The eagle was euthanized.

After the sentencing, NBC 5 requested the video that the court reviewed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posted a video to the Department of the Interior Law Enforcement’s social media page. The post included a warning, “The following video contains graphic content depicting a bald eagle being shot, falling from a tree and ultimately dying due to human actions. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.”

The post goes on to say, “While we understand this video is difficult to watch, this post is intended to be educational and unfiltered. Its purpose is to help viewers recognize that these incidents occur and to highlight why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has these regulations in place.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray sentenced Guerrero, who was permitted to remain free on bond, and who will voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility on a date to be determined in the near future.

Although bald eagles are no longer listed as endangered, federal law continues to protect them under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The law prohibits anyone from killing, possessing, selling, transporting, exporting, or importing any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, including any part, nest, or egg, without authorization.

Source: Texas man sentenced for killing bald eagle – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
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Washington man accused of shooting, killing bald eagle facing federal charges

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Federal criminal charges have been filed against a Washington state man whom authorities allege fatally shot a bald eagle in the head on his rural property, authorities said. Benjamin G. Allen of Brush Prairie in Clark County, Washington, was charged Tuesday with violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and unlawfully killing a migratory bird, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

If convicted of the misdemeanor charges, Allen could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, the statement said. ABC News could not reach Allen for comment on Wednesday. It was unclear if Allen has hired an attorney. The 66-year-old Allen “is accused of shooting and killing the bird with a shotgun,” according to the statement. The incident occurred on Feb. 5, 2026, when a witness reported hearing a gunshot coming from Allen’s property, the statement said. “According to records in the case, special agents from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife were called to the property in Brush Prairie regarding a dead eagle with blood around its head,” according to the statement, which further said that agents interviewed Allen about the deceased eagle and “his actions that day.”

The statement did not disclose what Allen may have told the agents. “Allen kept chickens not far from where the dead eagle was discovered,” the statement noted, adding that an exam by a veterinarian concluded the eagle died from two shotgun pellets found in its brain. Allen has been summoned to appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, on Sept. 8. While bald eagles are the national symbol of the United States, they are no longer considered endangered. The birds, however, are still protected under the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which prohibits individuals from killing them.

The charges against Allen come after a 42-year-old Texas man, Santos Guerrero, pleaded guilty in May to federal charges that he fatally shot a bald eagle on his property near Houston in 2024. Guerrero faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine when sentenced, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. In another case in Washington state, 49-year-old Travis John Branson of Cusick was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and fined $777,250 after he pleaded guilty in 2024 to charges stemming from the killing of numerous eagles and hawks on Washington’s Flathead Indian Reservation, according to federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Branson admitted to a self-described “killing spree” of thousands of eagles and hawks between 2009 and 2021, butchering the birds and selling their parts, including eagle feathers, on the black market. Prosecutors said investigators traced the deaths of 118 eagles and 107 hawks directly to Branson.

Source: Washington man accused of shooting, killing bald eagle facing federal charges – ABC7 Chicago

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