18-year-old Daniel Smith of Homer faces charges for the alleged killing of a bald eagle, one of the most heavily protected species in the country.
Authorities allege the killing took place in Claiborne Parish in February of 2017, and after a long investigation, Wildlife and Fisheries spokesperson Adam Einck says they managed to obtain a warrant for his truck where they discovered incriminating evidence.
“We found a bald eagle feather and when we presented this evidence to Mr. Smith, he then admitted to agents that he shot a bald eagle,” says Einck.
LDWF agents say Smith admitted to taking the bird down with a .223 rifle.
Einck says Smith’s loose lips ultimately did him in and pointed authorities in his direction
“He had kept some photos of it on his phone and he was bragging about it or showing it off to some friends and that is how word got out and that is how we got information that he had killed a bald eagle,” says Einck.
Shooting a bald eagle is a serious offense that can land you jail time and up to 100,000 dollars in fines.
And once authorities got a hold of that phone, they found evidence that led to them arresting two others and citing juvenile for other documented crimes not related to the bald eagle.
“They were associated with other crimes committed against wildlife, like hunting deer at night, taking turkey’s out of season, shooting out street lights, you name it,” says Einck.
The two adults were 19-year-olds Jacob and Jared Lee of Bernice.
