EL DORADO, Ark. — U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas announced that Christopher Lane Shackelford was sentenced on June 15, 2023, for the death of a bald eagle on Jan. 2023.
Shackelford was sentenced to 24 months of federal probation and was ordered to pay $2,025 in restitution and fees on one count of aiding and abetting in the taking of a bald eagle.
Court documents state that officers with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission became aware of an incident in which witnesses claim they observed a bald eagle get shot on Jan. 16, 2022. Witnesses said the person who shot the bird then went in the water to retrieve it.
According to officers who responded to the scene, the soon made contact with Shackelford, who initially denied shooting the eagle but later confessed.
Violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act can carry maximum criminal penalties of up to $250,000 and/or two years in federal prison.
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