Teen Arrested For Shooting Bald Eagle

HOUSTON, TX -- Harris County sheriff's deputies arrested a 17-year old man Wednesday who allegedly shot and killed an American Bald Eagle with a pellet gun.

Orlando David Delgado was charged with hunting without landowners consent, a class A misdemeanor.

Investigators said a deputy was called to a home in the 9200 block of Vinetree on Tuesday afternoon.

A witness said he heard a loud pop in back of his home that runs along White Oak bayou.

The man said he saw three teenagers, one who was armed with a rifle, standing near the base of a tree where an American Bald Eagle had nested for a few years in the neighborhood.

After the three teenagers left the area, the witnesses said he walked over to where they'd been standing, and found the American Bald Eagle was deceased.

The witness called 911 and waited for deputies to arrive.

Before deputies arrived, one of the young men now identified as Delgado and two friends returned and one of the young men pulled a feather from the dead eagle, and left the area in a white colored pickup.

The witness asked a local mail carrier if he saw the pickup truck in the area, and told him it was located one block north of the location.

The deputy went to the home and spoke with the teenager, who admitted to shooting the eagle several times and killing the protected bird.

The deputy called the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens to aid in the investigation.

It was determined that because of Delgado’s age the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to prosecute, but Game Warden H.R. Volschenk of the Texas Parks and Wildlife would charge Delgado with hunting without landowners consent a class A misdemeanor.

Delgado could be fined a maximum of $4,000, forced to forfeit his weapon, and serve a year in jail for killing the eagle,.

Photo courtesy of HCSO