Man sentenced for killing bald eagle in Virginia

[Sunlei]

Source: Daily Astorian

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who admitted he shot a bald eagle and then ran it over several times with an all-terrain vehicle has been sentenced to a month of house arrest.

The Virginian-Pilot reports 62-year-old Allen H. Thacker also was ordered Monday to complete 100 hours of community service at an area wildlife refuge and pay $500 in fines along with $1,500 in restitution.

Thacker pleaded guilty to violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act in July. He told officers he killed the eagle in March because he'd seen the bird killing small game and eating fish on his property. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Kosky declined to comment on the plea agreement, as did Thacker and his attorney.


Read more: http://www.dailyastorian.com/man-sentenced-for-killing-bald-eagle-in-virginia-da-ap-webfeeds-news-nation-worldf583c76fcbb64b46a91945df7ab28023

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Published on October 24, 2017 2:30AM

Last changed on October 24, 2017 6:25AM

[MontanaMama]

1. Eagles are birds of prey.

They kill small game and fish because they can’t shop at the Walmart like this fucking hillbilly.

[maxsolomon]

13. HILLBILLY?

how dare you use that pejorative on DU! that's as insulting as "flyover country"!

[ffr]

18. hahaha

Dat dare ding was on mees properteeeee! Bhrught-ding! tRrrrrump's mee guy. Whee-ight powa!

First this man shot a bald eagle. Then he ran it over with his ATV. - WaPo

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

2. I know a fellow serving five years for killing three

Coopers hawks

Conservation officer testimony

"He wiped out an entire family with two shots"

[Sunlei]

9. 5 years, these people usually aren't caught. 5 yrs ago during the Tx drought, a family of hawks

'chicken hawks' survived drought picking off a couple of my beautiful flock of hens. a murder of crows & a buzzard were scrap clean-up for the Hawks.

I have a gun-family neighbor who offered to shoot them all.

[AtheistCrusader]

3. Lifetime hunting ban.

I'd take his guns too. He didn't just kill that eagle, he mutilated it.

I wouldn't trust him with a spork.

[Aristus]

4. Take his ATV, too.

Couple of months without shootin' 'n' ridin', the dumb redneck fuckstick will commit suicide...

[Kolesar]

8. Court should ban him from possessing any firearms and forget about a concealed carry permit

But, judges are conservatives

[melm00se]

10. If it's a felony conviction

he loses his right to own a gun.

[MontanaMama]

14. How does that work, exactly?

Does someone from law enforcement confiscate his weapons? I'm not challenging your statement, I'm curious. I've always wondered...

[AtheistCrusader]

15. Yes and no.

He's required to turn them in/sell/dispose of them. If he's caught with one it's a 10 year/$100,000 fine felony per firearm. If he attempts to buy one, he'll be rejected at the NICS background check.

That said, since there's no registration in the US, the police can't swing by his house and ask for XYZ weapons with a list in hand.

[melm00se]

17. Assuming this crime involved

a weapon, the judge should order the defendant to surrender his weapon as purchase and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is another felony.

If the judge doesn't so order, the prosecutor can and should make such a motion as part of the sentencing phase.

Once he is out of the clink, if he goes to buy a firearm from a dealer, this conviction will pop in an NICS check run by the licensed dealer.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. While this is terrible, he will be vilified by some more than

those who kill innocent people of color or molest women and sit in the highest position in America.

[Bayard]

6. Sickening

And even more because he only got a slap on the wrist.

[Kolesar]

7. My impression is that gun owners are cruel

Had to fill his blood lust. Huge numbers of birds are killed just for target practice. I was disgusted when a DU story said that KY was going to make Sandhill Cranes a "game" species. Hunters shoot at doves just for the hell of it. Blast it, watch it die. Don't even collect it or mount it. They don't eat it.

No gungeoneer can deny that that is my impression of gun owners and even hunters. I grew up among a lot of degenerate gun owners who did just what I described. They also tortured frogs with firecrackers, drank too much, did drugs, dropped out of school and failed in life.

[Honeycombe8]

11. What a slime ball. He got off easy. House arrest? Hope he's wearing an ankle bracelet. nt

[Cryptoad]

12. Well ,,,, that like teach him a lesson,,,,,,,

only a glob of fecal slime would shoot a Bald eagle

[Doreen]

16. I am completely horrified.

Now lets imagine what he does to people when they piss him off. I would bet anything I have that he abuses people to.

[SunSeeker]

19. So much for respecting symbols of our country.

Last I checked, Kaepernick did not shoot the flag and run it over with an ATV.

[packman]

20. You DAMN birds , get off my lawn

I live in a development called Hawk's Nest - top of a small hill in Florida where Hawk's probably filled the skies at one time. Yesterday, while doing some chores in the backyard, my wife pointed out a hawk circling in the distance - a rare sight nowadays. Then, "pop-pop-pop" sounds. The faint sound of gunfire which I knew someone , somewhere in this area was trying to bring down the bird. However, it continued making circles and eventually flew out of view. Assholes will shoot at anything.

[Loyd]

21. Infuriating

Even more infuriating is that, had he murdered an unarmed black man, he's have gotten no punishment at all.