A Coeur d’Alene tribal member was sentenced to three years probation and 300 hours of community service this week for killing eagles and other protected birds, a violation of federal wildlife laws.
Adrian Q Brown-Sonder, of Plummer, Idaho, was also ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution and forfeit his hunting permits and licenses after pleading guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene. He’s banned from hunting or having weapons during his probation.
Brown-Sonder, 24, was arrested after an investigation involving tribal police, the FBI and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A confidential informant said Brown-Sonder had killed eagles and hawks, and several other witnesses backed that up. A search of his residence turned up feathers and other parts from those birds, which are covered under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Under federal law, tribal members are allowed to possess eagle feathers and other parts, but in most cases are not allowed to kill the birds. They can obtain them from a federal repository.
