Suspect in killing of bald eagle is father of NFL participant – Legislation Officer

A person accused of killing a bald eagle exterior of Pittsburgh on Could twelfth has been recognized as the daddy of Indianapolis Colts participant Rodney Thomas II. Rodney Thomas allegedly shot and killed a bald eagle that had lived within the space for 20 years.

The eagle, who made up a pair within the space, had been within the space almost twenty years and had been collectively always say residents.

Residents named the endangered chook, “Sam The Eagle.”

Inside days of the poaching, the Pennsylvania Sport Fee mentioned in a press release suggestions had led investigators to the suspect, who “admitted to all elements of the crime” in keeping with Fox News.

“We consider that the suspect will face any applicable state and/or federal fees in the end upon the conclusion of the continuing investigations,” Mount Nice Township Police Chief Matthew Tharp mentioned.

Bald eagles are thought-about one of many nation’s biggest wildlife preservation success tales, and populations have rebounded throughout the U.S. after they had been first positioned on the endangered species record.

After they had been upgraded from endangered to protected, the state penalty for killing an eagle in Pennsylvania was downgraded to a abstract violation nice of as much as $200.

The Pennsylvania state Senate just lately handed a invoice to lift the nice to $2,000 in an effort to discourage poaching.

The federal penalty for poaching a bald eagle can embody a nice of as much as $100,000 and as much as one yr in jail for a primary offense, in keeping with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.