Pair shot and killed a bald eagle, then planned to cook and eat it, Nebraska cops say
Two men found in a field with a dead bald eagle in 2023 had plans to cook and eat it, Nebraska deputies said.
A judge sentenced Ramiro Hernandez Tziquin, a Guatemalan national, to prison on Oct. 23 after he pleaded guilty to violating a federal law that protects bald eagles, according to officials and KCAU.
His co-defendant, Domingo Zetino Hernandez, also a Guatemalan national, was sentenced to prison on Nov. 14 and has since been deported, according to officials and KLKN. The length of their prison sentences was not listed in court documents.
Attorney information for Hernandez Tziquin was not listed. Zetino Hernandez’s attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Oct. 24.
Deputies encountered the two men in a field near Stanton with a bald eagle in their possession, the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 28, 2023, news release. The two had shot and killed a North American bald eagle and said they had plans to cook and eat it, deputies said.
Police cited the two for unlawful possession of an eagle and for not having a driver’s license. The two were later indicted in March 2023 and accused of illegally possessing and transporting a bald eagle without permission.
The dead eagle was repossessed by Nebraska Game and Parks, along with the weapons the two men had with them, according to deputies and court documents.
Bald eagles are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which criminalizes the act of taking, possessing, selling or purchasing the bird, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Stanton is about a 110-mile drive northwest from Omaha.
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Pair shot and killed a bald eagle, then planned to cook and eat it, Nebraska cops say."
