Back in February, the Stanton County Sheriff’s office had contact with two Honduran nationals who were living in Norfolk after responding to a call of a suspicious vehicle near the Wood Duck recreation area and the pair were have found to have shot and killed a Great North American Bald Eagle with a high-powered air rifle, just west of the recreation area southwest of Stanton. The two were cited on state charges and the deceased bird was turned over to the Nebraska Game and Parks. The pair was then charged by federal authorities with the unlawful killing of the national bird. The alleged shooter, Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, 20, was arrested on a federal arrest warrant and has been in custody since early March. The second suspect, Ramiro Hernandez-Tzquin, 20, has fled the area and is currently being sought on a federal arrest warrant. Last week, Zetino-Hernandez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act violation in U.S. District Court in Omaha and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4th. Both suspects are believed to have illegally entered the country and still could face deportation.
