Elderly man pleads guilty in federal court to killing bald eagle

SPARTA, NC (WHNS/Gray News) – An elderly North Carolina man pleads guilty in federal court to killing a bald eagle.

Robert Garner Gambill, 91, reportedly shot the eagle while it was perched in a tree in Sparta on June 5.

Gambell was armed with a Ruger M77 Mark 2 22-250 rifle and an attached Nikon Monarch MR31 4×16-42 scope.

After killing the eagle, Gambill abandoned the carcass on the bank of the New River and left the scene.

Two witnesses found the bird’s body. A necropsy performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement determined that the eagle had been shot with a high-powered rifle.

Bald and golden eagles are federally protected, making it criminal to hunt, take, capture, kill, possess or care for them or any part of their nest without an authorized permit.

Gambill pleaded guilty to illegal taking of a bald eagle and agreed to pay a $9,500 fine. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

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