SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Daniel Glenn Smith, 20, of Homer, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States Magistrate Judge Mark Hornsby to spend 30 days in prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release, for the unlawful possession of a bald eagle feather.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries learned that Smith had been photographed with a dead bald eagle and began an investigation. Agents executed a search warrant on Smith’s vehicle and recovered a feather that belonged to the slaughtered bald eagle. When interviewed after the search, Smith admitted that he killed the bald eagle and then kept a feather from it.
“The American Bald Eagle is a symbol of our American freedom and is an endangered species,” stated U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “This defendant did not take this symbol seriously, nor the laws that prohibit anyone from killing or possessing even a feather of a bald eagle. These laws were created to protect our wildlife and we will continue to prosecute individuals who abuse those laws.”
Smith had previously been placed on probation and ordered not to possess a firearm for one year, as a result of hunting violations involving other wildlife.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon H. Whitten.
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