28-02-2025
91-year-old North Carolina man fined $9,500 for killing bald eagle: DOJ
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A North Carolina man was ordered to pay a $9,500 fine for allegedly killing a bald eagle, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
A Charlotte-based federal judge ordered 91-year-old Robert Garner Gambill, of Sparta, to pay a $9,500 fine and turn in his firearm in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
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The court further ordered that a portion of the fine be paid to two witnesses in the case who provided information that led to Gambill's conviction, as required by the act.
According to information contained in plea documents and presented at the sentencing hearing, on June 5, 2024, Gambill set his firearm on a fencepost, and aimed, shot, and killed a bald eagle that was perched in a tree near the Farmers Fish Camp Road Bridge in Sparta.
Gambill used a Ruger M77 Mark 2 22-250 rifle with an attached Nikon Monarch MR31 4×16-42 scope. After reportedly killing the national symbol, documents indicate Gambill left the scene in his vehicle, abandoning the carcass on the bank of the New River.
The carcass was recovered with the assistance of two individuals who witnessed the incident and was subsequently taken into the custody of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. On Oct. 11, 2024, Gambill pleaded guilty to the unlawful taking of a bald eagle.
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In 1940 Congress enacted the Eagle Protection Act, predecessor to today's Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act, to protect the bald eagle from extinction.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Armstrong of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
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