Cruel Jeep driver who deliberately massacred 25 seagulls by mowing them down on a beach is jailed
James Shephard Travis, 64, pleaded guilty to first-degree animal cruelty and reckless driving in Pacific County Superior Court in Washington.
He faced up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine, but accepted a plea bargain offered by prosecutors and was locked up in the county jail.
Travis slaughtered the seagulls about 8pm on July 27 last year on Klipsan Beach near Ocean Park, Washington, in front of shocked beachgoers.
Witnesses said the rented silver Jeep Wrangler was 'drifting sideways past stuck vehicles and people' at 50mph to 60mph.
A mother and nine-year-old son said they were almost run over while walking their dogs as the SUV sped up and down the beach.
Travis initially tried to excuse his seagull mass murder by protesting there weren't any signs stating that people should look out for birds on the beach.
Judge Donald Richter deferred 20 days of the 30-day sentence and made Travis eligible for parole after a week behind bars.
He must also complete 160 hours of community service near his home in Hawaii and pay a $750 fine. He was also banned from owning animals.
Travis was identified by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police after a witness snapped photos of him behind the wheel of the bloodstained car.
Kim Ledyard McGee said she, her wife Bob, and friend Dorothy Howard witnessed him speed along the beach and swerve into the birds.
'We watched him plow through the flock without slowing down at all, and did not swerve to avoid any birds,' Howard told police.
Soon after, they saw the Jeep coming back and Bob blocked it with his car, which was when they confronted Travis and took the photos.
Travis was 'in a daze' and 'kept saying sorry in a quiet, monotone voice... appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol ', the police report read.
'A few minutes later, he passed us again at a high rate of speed. After the third time, Bob flung our beater truck sideways right in front of [him] forcing him to either hit us or stop,' McGee explained in a Facebook post.
'We jumped out screaming at him... He even still had a dead bird in his grill! After we reamed him out, he still took off at a high speed.'
McGee took photos of the driver and the Jeep, which had pieces of seagulls lodged in the grill, along with video of numerous dead birds on the sand.
The trio gathered three birds that were still alive to take them to a wildlife center for treatment, 'but sadly they died in our arms'.
'So upset and something I won't be able to un-see or forget,' McGee said.
The police report said 'the seagulls had crushing injuries consistent with a vehicle strike'.
Travis was in town for the Ilwaco High School class of 1984 reunion, where his wife Gena Snow-Travis, 58, went to school, and they stayed with her parents.
Pacific County Undersheriff Mike Wray was at the same reunion, a golf event, and told police he saw Travis there about 2.30pm and believed he was intoxicated.
The couple, who have been married for 15 years, flew into Portland Airport and rented the silver 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid.
The car was returned to Budget Rental Car about 8.30pm on July 29 and police examined the car and found feathers still stuck in the grill.
Travis and his wife had flown back to their home in Honolulu, where Snow-Travis works as a real estate agent for Private Homes Hawai'i.
Police repeatedly called and texted Snow-Travis and she eventually replied: 'Thank you! I have given Jim the information. He will be contacting you soon. Aloha.'
However, the police report said Travis never made contact with investigators.
'Travis drove in a reckless manner, and at a high rate of speed, nearly striking pedestrians and several dogs,' police said at the time.
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