A former Lame
Deer resident now living in California admitted to dealing in migratory bird
parts, including eagle and hawk feathers.
Steven Patrick
Garcia, 36, of San Jose, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Billings on
Wednesday to two counts, including unlawfully offering for sale and selling
migratory birds in 2008 and unlawful migratory bird trafficking in 2009.
Assistant U.S.
Attorney Mark Smith said Garcia, using a MySpace account, sold a California
resident hawk feathers and a golden eagle feather for $225 in 2008. A U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service agent interviewed the buyer, who voluntarily gave up the
feathers.
During an
undercover investigation, an FWS agent communicated with Garcia through MySpace
about buying hawk and eagle feathers. Garcia agreed to sell the agent two
hawk tails for $250 and suggested they “wait till I get a baldie in before I
take any funds … I have one now just haven’t cleaned it up yet … SO I’ll let
you know by this weekend so I can clean it and see if it’s worthy of selling,”
Smith said.
The agent
mailed a money order to Garcia in Lame Deer and received 12 ferruginous hawk
and 12 rough-legged hawk tail feathers.
In another
transaction in February 2009, Garcia sent the agent golden eagle wing feathers
in exchange for $400.
When
interviewed, Garcia told agents he knew he could not legally possess feathers
because he was not an enrolled member of an Indian tribe and knew it was
illegal to sell, kill, buy and trade eagles and other birds.
Garcia faces a
maximum of five years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Chief U.S.
District Judge Richard Cebull set sentencing for April 18 and continued
Garcia’s release.
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