Louisiana Migratory Game Bird Violations Lead to Five Guilty Pleas and Fines

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries 10.24.12

Two Vermilion Parish men pled guilty in the U.S. Western District Court of Louisiana in Lafayette on Oct. 17 for migratory game bird violations.

Ryan Frederick, 23, of Kaplan, and Dustin Fontenot, 23, of Abbeville pled guilty to taking over the daily bag limit of white-fronted geese, hunting geese with an electronic calling device and for failing to maintain custody of their birds in the field.

Judge Patrick Hanna ordered Frederick and Fontenot to each pay a total of $2,155 in fines and fees and placed them on two years of probation, which includes no hunting of any migratory game birds.

In connection with this case, Zayne Greene, 23, Robert Russo, 21, and Drew Laborde, 21, all from Abbeville, pled guilty outside of court at an earlier date to hunting geese with an electronic calling device and failing to maintain custody of their birds in the field. These three men each paid $1,770 in fines and fees.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents observed Frederick and Fontenot on an afternoon hunt north of Kaplan on Jan. 12, 2012. When agents attempted to make contact with Frederick and Fontenot, the two threw geese into a nearby canal to hide them. Agents recovered 17 white-fronted geese and five snow geese from the canal and an electronic calling device used during the hunt after making contact with Frederick and Fontenot.

After further investigation, agents learned that Greene, Russo and Laborde participated in the hunt earlier in the afternoon in which the electronic calling device was used. Greene, Russo and Laborde also left harvested birds in the field.

Senior Agents Justin Sonnier and Lonnie Campbell investigated this case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett L. Grayson.

For more information, contact Adam Einck at 225-765-2465 or aeinck@wlf.la.gov.

Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries – Enforcement Division(LDWF) is the fish & game regulatory agency of Louisiana. It has jurisdictionanywhere in the state, and in state territorial waters. The agency enforces both state and federal laws dealing with hunting, fishing, and boating safety. The agency also enforces criminal laws in rural areas including DWI enforcement both on highways and waterways. Most of the Department’s Wildlife Agents also carry Federal law enforcement commissions issued from the United States Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Department of Commerce - U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These federal commissions allow these state officers to enforce federal migratory waterfowl laws and federal marine fisheries laws in state and federal waters off the coast of Louisiana. Besides their traditional role as a “game warden”, Louisiana Wildlife Enforcement Agents also have a number of other responsibilities, including conducting board of health inspections on some portions of the state’s commercial fishing industry. Agents are trained in and conduct numerous search and rescue operations, both in remote land areas and on the state’s waterways. Agents ensure that hunters, anglers, boaters, dealers, breeders, farmers, and transporters are in compliance with regulations governing equipment, quotas, licenses, and registrations. Agents also assist other State departments and law enforcement agencies in the coordination of educational and professional endeavors, as well as national and state emergency alerts by the Federal Office of Emergency Preparedness. In addition, agents perform search and rescue missions alone or in conjunction with other local, state, and federal agencies.