Faulkton Man Charged and Sentenced for Wildlife Violations Involving Bald Eagle Deaths

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Faulkton, South Dakota, man convicted of Unlawful Taking of Bald Eagles, Unlawful Taking of Migratory Birds, and Unlawful Use of Restricted Use Pesticide was charged by information on May 7, 2020, and was sentenced on May 13, 2020, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno.

Kevin Deiter, age 43, appeared on May 13, 2020, pled guilty to the Information, and was ordered to pay a total of $29,400 in restitution, $9,800 per eagle, a $5,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $40.

On March 21, 2017, the U.S.  Fish and Wildlife Service received notification from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department that three dead bald eagles were recovered in Faulk County.  In the area where the bald eagles were recovered, law enforcement noted impression marks from silage bags that had been removed, a dead skunk, a dead mink, two partially intact chicken eggs, and a collection of chicken egg shell fragments. During the investigation Dieter admitted to injecting the chicken eggs with carbamate carbofuran and placing them near the silage bags in order to keep skunks and mink from destroying the silage bags. It was determined that the three bald eagles and the skunk and mink that were recovered had each died of carbamate carbofuran poisoning.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.