ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A Kewa Pueblo medicine man faces prison and steep fines for killing and plucking bald eagles in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Martin Aguilar, 47, entered guilty pleas Wednesday to the unlawful taking of a bald eagle and the unlawful possession of a bald eagle, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque.
Aguilar is not in custody pending his sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled.
According to prosecutors, Aguilar was with his son on Feb, 6, 2010, on bosque pueblo lands when Aguilar and his son shot two eagles and then took the birds home and removed the feathers. Aguilar told U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents two days later that he killed the eagles and that their feathers were located at his house.
He acknowledged that he had not applied for or obtained permission to kill, take or possess a bald eagle from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as required by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Aguilar further acknowledged that he is a medicine man at the Santo Domingo Pueblo, and that he has shot and killed five bald eagles since 1992.
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