Lonny Street Pled Guilty in Eagle Case
Lonny Street, 31 of Tama, IA was sentenced to serve 16 months in Federal prison, after pleading guilty to two counts of take of eagles. As part of a plea agreement, nine additional counts were dismissed. Street was one of several Native Americans apprehended in an investigation into the illegal killing and commercialization of eagles and their parts for the Native American pow wow trade. The investigation was begun by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Tama, IA in February 1998, and expanded to South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Montana and Colorado.
Street had just returned to Iowa from an eagle killing trip on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota when a FWS Special Agent and Iowa Conservation Officers executed three search warrants on residences in the Tama, IA area.
Two large suitcases filled to overflowing with freshly-killed bald and golden eagle heads and eagle feet; as well as leg-hold traps, a .22 magnum rifle and the sorted, packaged feathers and feet of numerous other raptor species were seized.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab positively identified the seized wildlife from Street's apartment and determined that it consisted of the following:
• at least 22 individual golden eagles;
• at least 4 individual bald eagles
• 9 other species of raptors including golden eagle, bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, 17 rough-legged hawks, kestrel, prairie falcon, sharp-shinned hawk, ferruginous hawk, and two individual gyrfalcons.
• 8 other species of birds including turkey vulture, northern flicker (both red and yellow), great blue heron, gull, sage grouse, ring neck pheasant, and domestic turkey (mixed in with bald eagle feathers).
Federal arrest warrants were issued for Lonny Street and his brother Steve Street, who both fled Iowa after the searches were conducted. Steve Street was located and apprehended in Indiana and sentenced to 10 months in prison and $5,000 restitution for his part in the killings.
Gerald W. Oliver, Jr., from Toledo, IA was then sentenced to 24 months probation and $5,000 restitution. Revocation of his Federal eagle feather permit is also being sought.
After being on the run, Lonny Street was located and arrested at a pow wow in Denver, CO. However, the judge there released him on bond. He then failed to appear for sentencing, and had to be arrested again. His sentence consisted of 12 months on the first count and 16 months on the second (which is a felony). However, the sentences are to run concurrently. In addition to the 16 month felony prison sentence, Lonny Street was also ordered to pay $10,000 restitution to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where the money will be used for eagle research projects. He must also undergo two years of supervised release (probation) with all the normal conditions attached. He was sentenced in Pierre, SD, the Federal Juridical District where the killings took place.
The illegal commercial trade in wildlife, parts and products is second only to the illegal drug trade in overall dollar value, estimated to exceed $5 billion dollars annually worldwide. While there is a legitimate use for eagle feathers in Native American religious ceremonies, a tremendous black market demand exists for eagle parts on the pow wow circuit in the U.S. and Canada as well as among those persons who collect Old West Americana.
Huge sums of money are paid for hard-to-get eagle feathers, feet, heads and other parts. At the various pow wows held annually across North America, participants compete for tens of thousands of dollars in prize money awarded for the best costumes and dances.
This case sends a strong deterrent message to those persons who might consider the illegal trafficking and commercialization in eagle and other Federally protected species for personal gain.
Link to Report
Report dates back to Winter 2001
Reports on more Eagle Killings and Illegal Killings of Endangered Birds and Animals
Contents
January 2006 Reports
Last updated on January 24, 2006