Watertown Man Sentenced For Unlawful Taking Of Migratory Birds And Lacey Act Violations

United   States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Watertown, South Dakota, man charged with Unlawful Taking of Migratory Birds and Lacey Act Violations pled guilty and was sentenced on February 4, 2014, by U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Gerdes.

Roger Meyer, age 53, was sentenced to 2 years of unsupervised probation, no hunting or guiding for 2 years, $550 in restitution to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, a $3,000 fine, and $35 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The conviction stems from incidents that took place in 2008 and 2009 when Meyer, doing business as Meyer Guide Service, guided paying clients on duck hunts on two separate occasions.  During these duck hunts, Meyer allowed and encouraged the hunters to exceed their daily limit of ducks.  Following the hunts, the ducks were not tagged properly and transported in violation of federal law.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges.