Oklahoma man due in Portland federal court next week
By Barney Lerten, KTVZ.COM
An Oklahoma man has been indicted in Oregon on federal wildlife violations, accused of selling a fan made of golden eagle feathers in Warm Springs, prosecutors said Friday. A Warm Springs man who allegedly delivered the fan has not been charged, they added.
Karen Immergut, U.S. Attorney for Oregon, said the federal grand jury's indictment charges Reginald Dale Akeen, also known as J.J. Lonelodge, 33, of Anadarko, Okla., with violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Act, as well as conspiracy.
Akeen was arrested in New Mexico, where a federal judge allowed him to be released from custody but ordered him to appear next Friday in Portland federal court to answer to the charges, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacie Beckerman.
The indictment alleges that in August and September of 2007, Akeen and a co-conspirator not yet publicly identified sold a fan made from nine juvenile golden eagle fathers in exchange for $1,750 in cash and bartered items.
The co-conspirator, a Warm Springs man who delivered the item, has not been charged, Beckerman said.
The maximum penalties for each of the charges is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Golden eagles are one of the species of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and while members of enrolled Indian tribes are allowed to possess the feathers, under certain circumstances, they are not allowed to be sold or traded, Beckerman said.
In her announcement, Immergut said, "We take our responsibility to enforce federal wildlife protection laws very seriously."
"To conserve our eagle populations here in Oregon and across the country, we must stop the illegal commercial exploitation of these birds," she added.
The indictment results from an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into the illegal killing of bald and golden eagles and other protected birds and the sale of their feathers and parts.
Last week, federal agents arrested Akeen and three other men for killing and selling bald and golden eagles and other protected birds.
Eagles and other protected birds are viewed as sacred in many Native American cultures, and the feathers of the birds are used for religious purposes.
