Busted II

[JABIII]

One subject of investigation by Arkansas special agents entered a guilty plea to a one count information charging that he baited his hunting area for waterfowl. The investigation revealed that James B. Beinman, an attorney from Lynchburg, VA, had leased a farm near Stuttgart, AR, for waterfowl hunting. Flooded rice fields were found to have been baited by adding rice back to the field and Mr. Feinman used an ATV with a grain spreader attached to distribute the grain at night.

A cooperative surveillance with officers of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission revealed that someone had ridden the ATV into the fields at night. Mr. Feinman denied knowing the identity of that person to investigators, but it was determined that Mr. Feinman only hunted on weekends and would bait the hunting areas the night before he returned to Virginia for the week. By the time he returned to hunt the following weekend, the rice had usually been consumed by the ducks and geese.

In light of his false statements to investigators about the identity of the person distributing the grain, Mr. Feinman elected to plead guilty to baiting rather than face possible indictment for a Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 violation, was fined $7,500 and placed on probation for two years.

A special condition of his probation is that he not hunt for the probationary period. Special credit goes to RAC Rick Perry in Virginia, who conducted very thorough Interviews which resulted in the United States Attorney issuing Grand Jury subpoenas which summoned two witnesses from Virginia back to Arkansas. This witness testimony elicited by RAC Perry was crucial to the guilty plea.

[JABIII]

A Louisiana man who previously admitted poisoning a bald eagle and two black vultures on his farm near Calico Rock has now been convicted of two felony witness-tampering charges in the same case. A federal jury convicted Alfred Craft, 60, of Monroe, LA, on tampering charges involving his ex-wife, Debbie Tatum, and one of his former employees, Scottie Shreve. The jury cleared Craft of a third felony tampering charge concerning another former employee, Maxine Ford.

After the verdict, Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright ordered Craft detained until his sentencing, which has not been scheduled, unless he can prove that he would not be a danger to anyone else if released. Wright cited Craft's disregard for wildlife, and Tatum's testimony earlier this week that she had recently gotten a restraining order against Craft and had a security detail at her Louisiana home because he had threatened to kill her. Wright also noted that home detention wouldn't be practical for Craft, an excavator who works outdoors and lives out of state.

Craft pled guilty in March to one misdemeanor charge of violating the federal Bald Eagle Act and two misdemeanor charges of violating the Migratory Bird Act, admitting that he intentionally lured and killed animals by baiting deer carcasses and sardine cans with a highly toxic poison, Temik, that he was not licensed to possess.

He said he meant to kill "nuisance animals" that ate turkey eggs on the farm, which he used for turkey hunting. But Shreve testified that in February 2004 he saw Craft strangle a dying bald eagle that had eaten the poison and then laugh about it. "I said the bald eagle hadn't done nothing," Shreve testified. "He said it's just buzzard."

After Shreve reported the killing, state and federal wildlife officers executed a search warrant on Craft's Arkansas property on February 11, 2004, and found evidence of the poisonings. Tatum, Shreve and Ford testified that Craft later tried to intimidate them to keep them from testifying before a federal grand jury. "The disregard for protected wildlife and the environment in this investigation cried out for justice," U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins said. "This defendant only compounded his problems when he chose to intimidate grand jury witnesses, something we simply never tolerate. As the penalties reflect, poisoning bald eagles is craven conduct and serious business, but witness intimidation is even worse."

The tampering charges each carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison while the bald eagle conviction is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The vulture convictions are each punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment and a fine of up to $15,000. In April, another jury deadlocked on the witness-tampering charges but convicted Craft of another misdemeanor, unlawful use of a pesticide, which subjects Craft to up to 30 days in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.

[JABIII]

A man from Dot Lake, AK, shot and killed a banded bald eagle in August, 2004. The case originated when the Alaska State Troopers were investigating an assault complaint, saw the eagle carcass in the man's truck and called Service agents. Service agents responded and documented the man killed the eagle with the intent to sell it, and that he was also a convicted felon and not allowed to possess a firearm when he shot it.

The agents seized the eagle carcass and two rifles from the man, and obtained a confession regarding the unlawful take and intent to sell. The man pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, and violation of the Lacey Act and Eagle Protection Act. He received a sentence of 21 months in Federal prison for the felon in possession violation, and 12 months in prison for the unlawful take and transport of the eagle, to run concurrently. Upon his release he will be on supervised probation for 3 years.

[JABIII]

In May 2005, Paul Stoppel pled guilty to a Misdemeanor Information for violation of baiting in Federal Court, Portland, OR. Stoppel was sentenced by the U. S. Magistrate Judge to (2) years supervised probation; (2) years no hunting of any kind/anywhere; and a fine of $1,475. The Wilsonville OLE received information from the Oregon State Police, and worked with a confidential informant (CI) on the investigation. Agents Land and Stinebaugh determined that Stoppel, who had (4) prior state waterfowl hunting violations, baited the area continuously to attract the birds. The CI even observed Stoppel carrying the full bags of seed into the ponds. At "O dark thirty" agents obtained some of the bait Stoppel was using to attract the birds. Eventually, surveillance was established, and Stoppel was contacted in the field. Stoppel confessed to baiting the area.

[JABIII]

CORMORANT VIOLATORS FINED
In June 2005, a Houston Special Agent (Tom Lane) closed an MBTA investigation which involved two subjects who killed two double-crested cormorants while hunting waterfowl near Port O'Connor, TX. They were each issued Violation Notices for unlawful take of non-game migratory birds and forfeited collateral in the amount of $1,200 ($600 each) in settlement of their violations.

[JABIII]

VIOLATION NOTICE ISSUED FOR POSSESSION OF LEAD SHOT
The Beaumont Agent (Jeff Odom) recently closed an MBTA investigation after the defendant paid a $1,040 fine for possession of 47 rounds of toxic lead shot while taking migratory waterfowl on Dam B Lake in Tyler County, TX. The defendant subsequently forfeited all 47 rounds.

[jwilliams]

WHy would a warden pursue a case about cormorant shooting? Those boys should be given a medal.

[Red]

Because its the law.

[Trail'nTree]

They should open a season on those things, it is more of those than ducks in SC

[jwilliams]

yes, there is a ridiculous law about that. I still think they should be given a medal.

[Turd Ferguson]

I bet the Mexican Mallards would wise up real quick-- I have seen a few of them that the Rubbahaids opened up on--so damned ugly a buzzard wont even eat them. Made me think that maybe he had dropped a load on them. We had one flying in front of us on the way back in once and he let er' rip-- 5 foot of squirt-- some of it hit the bow

[DB5]

there needs to be an open season on blue herons, anything that makes that horrible sound and eats baby wood ducks ought to be shot...