February 16, 2010 - BISMARCK, ND—Acting United States Attorney Lynn Jordheim announced that on February 10, 2010, Jesse Marchus, 30, of Wilton, North Dakota, was found guilty by a federal jury on charges of possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, unlawful taking of bald eagle and unlawful possession of bald eagle. United States District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland presided.
In March 2009, U.S. Fish & Wildlife received information that Marchus shot a bald eagle in northen Burleigh County, along the Missouri River, west of Wilton. An investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at that location, on May 8, 2009, at a cabin believed to be Marchus’s residence. During the search, law enforcement officials seized nine firearms, including over 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a pair of bald eagle feet. Marchus had previously been convicted of burglary in 2003, possession of drug paraphernalia in 2003, and felon in possession of a firearm in 2006 in Burleigh County District Court. Because of these convictions, Marchus was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
The charge of possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges of unlawful taking of bald eagle and unlawful possession of bald eagle each carry a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $5000 fine.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, North Dakota Game & Fish, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Burleigh County Sheriff’s Office.
Sentencing for Marchus has been scheduled for May 10, 2010, 11:00 a.m. in United States District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Assistant United States Attorney David Hagler is prosecuting the case.
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