A Porter man will spend 14 days in federal prison. His crime: shooting a bald eagle in his own backyard. Santos Guerrero, 43, also has to pay a $5,000 fine.
The shooting happened on October 11, 2024. Guerrero shot the eagle while it sat in a tree behind his house. The bird fell to the ground, hurt bad. Guerrero hid it under a tarp in his garage. Then he lied to authorities about what happened.
This case matters for a simple reason. Bald eagles are still protected under federal law. That is true even though the bird came off the endangered species list years ago. Anyone who kills, hurts, or keeps a bald eagle without a special permit can face federal charges. This case shows that rule still gets enforced. It got enforced all the way down to one backyard in Montgomery County.
Agents got video of the shooting. The footage showed the eagle get hit. It showed the eagle fall out of the tree. Agents matched the tree in that video to the one in Guerrero's yard. That led them straight to his property. They searched it. They found the hurt eagle. It was hidden under the tarp in his garage.
Agents rushed the eagle to an animal hospital. Vets could not save it. They had to put the eagle down. A necropsy, that means an animal autopsy, showed just how bad the damage was. The bullet tore up the eagle's wing. The fall from the tree cracked its liver. The fall also caused bleeding inside its body. It broke one of its legs too.
Guerrero was charged under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. That is a federal law. It makes it a crime to kill or hurt a bald eagle. It is also a crime to sell, move, or keep one, dead or alive, without a permit. The law also covers eagle parts, nests, and eggs. Break it, and you could go to federal prison. This is not just a ticket.
Guerrero pleaded guilty on May 14, 2026. Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced the guilty plea that day. At that point, Guerrero faced up to a year behind bars. He also faced a fine as high as $100,000.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray handed down the final sentence this week. Guerrero got 14 days in federal prison. He also got a $5,000 fine. He does not have to report right away. He gets to stay out on bond. He will turn himself in to a federal prison later, on a date set by the court.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service led the case. Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens helped out too. Assistant U.S. Attorney Liesel Roscher prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Goldman also worked on the prosecution. Both work for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas. That office is based in Houston, but it also has branch locations in Brownsville and McAllen. Those two branches cover the Rio Grande Valley.
Guerrero's case is now mostly closed. He still has to pick a date to turn himself in. His 14-day sentence is far below the one-year max he faced at his guilty plea. Shooting a bald eagle, even on your own land, remains a federal crime under U.S. law, no matter where in Texas it happens.
