January 10, 2008

DENNIS LABBEE FINED IN FEDERAL WILDLIFE CASE

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Dennis Labbee, 27, of North Troy, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge that he violated the federal Lacey Act by acquiring a prohibited bird in December 2002. United States Magistrate Judge Jerome J. Niedermeier ordered that Labbee pay a $750 fine for this misdemeanor violation of federal wildlife law.

On December 1, 2002 Vermont wildlife officials learned that the carcass of an immature bald eagle had been found by a concerned citizen near a road in Troy, Vermont. A forensic examination showed the eagle had been shot while it was perched in a resting position. Evidence at the scene indicated the eagle had been shot elsewhere and then disposed of where its carcass was found. Several federal laws forbid anyone from killing a bald eagle.

In July 2006, a federal grand jury in Burlington returned an indictment accusing Labbee of killing a protected bird. Today in court, Labbee pleaded guilty to a related charge of acquiring a prohibited bird. Although Labbee did not admit to killing or possessing the eagle, the Government maintained that Labbee was the person responsible for killing that specimen at the end of the 2002 rifle season for deer.

Labbee is represented by David Watts. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples. The case was investigated by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.