A 62-year-old Smithfield man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing a bald eagle near the James River, first shooting and wounding the bird, then running over it with his all-terrain vehicle.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Allen H. Thacker shot the eagle “because he was upset it had been hunting and taking fish from a pond located on his property,” a Department of Justice news release stated.
Thacker first tried to scare the bird away with a warning shot, court records state. When the warning shot failed, Thacker shot the bird with a Remington .22 caliber rifle.
A necropsy performed on the dead eagle showed Thacker’s shot wounded the bird, but blunt force trauma to the bird’s skull “proved fatal,” the release stated.
Thacker initially denied killing the bird when interviewed by investigators, but a witness reported having seen Thacker drive over the bird with his ATV, the release said.
In his guilty plea Tuesday, Thacker admitted to shooting the bird and running it over. The specific charge is unlawful taking of a bald eagle, the release stated.
Thacker faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine when sentenced on October 23.
