Aroostook County Man Sentenced for Federal Gun Violation and Killing Bald Eagle
Bangor, Maine — United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Stephen L. Voisine, 51, of Wytopitlock, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine to one year and one day of prison for killing a bald eagle and possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The court also sentenced Voisine to two years of supervised release to follow the incarceration. Voisine had pleaded guilty to the crimes on June 13, 2011.
Court records reveal that in November 2009 an anonymous caller contacted state law enforcement to report that the defendant had shot an eagle. A warden with the Maine Warden Service found the dead bald eagle a short distance from a logging road in Kingman. A veterinarian later examined the eagle and found a wing and leg fracture and wounds containing lead fragments consistent with trauma from a high velocity rifle bullet. A cooperative federal and state investigation showed that Voisine had shot and killed the eagle in October 2009 with a .30–06 caliber rifle.
Voisine was convicted in 2004 of a State of Maine misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Because of that conviction, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II praised the cooperative federal and state investigation that led to the conviction. That investigation was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Warden Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
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