91-year-old man pleads guilty in federal court to killing bald eagle

SPARTA, N.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - An elderly North Carolina man pleads guilty in federal court to charges of killing a bald eagle.

Robert Garner Gambill, 91 years old, reportedly shot the eagle while it was perched in a tree in Sparta on June 5.

Gambell was armed with a Ruger M77 Mark 2 22-250 rifle and an attached Nikon Monarch MR31 4x16-42 scope.

After killing the eagle, Gambill abandoned the carcass on the bank of the New River and left the scene.

Two witnesses recovered the bird’s body. A necropsy performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement determined the eagle suffered a gunshot wound from a high-powered rifle.

Bald eagles and golden eagles are federally protected, making it a crime to hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, or otherwise deal with them or any part of their nest without an authorized permit.

Gambill pleaded guilty to the unlawful taking of a bald eagle and agreed to pay a $9,500 fine. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

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