Man Receives 10 Days in Jail in Hawk Shooting
A 22-year-old Sylmar man was sentenced to 10 days in jail Tuesday for shooting a red-tailed hawk, which is protected by state law, with an air gun as it perched on a utility pole near his home, authorities said.
Selvyn Antonio Rodriguez, 22, pleaded no contest to one count of unlawfully taking a bird of prey, according to a statement by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.
The red-tailed hawk, which is on the state’s list of protected species, was taken in by a neighbor who saw the bird fall to the ground after it was shot with a pellet gun. It was treated and released, said Donald Cocek, the deputy city attorney who prosecuted the case.
Rodriguez was cited by the state Department of Fish and Game on July 6 after a neighbor reported the shooting, the statement said.
In addition to his jail term, which begins Sept. 7, Van Nuys Municipal Court Judge Michael Knight ordered Rodriguez to make a $500 donation to the Raptor Rehabilitation and Release Program in Simi Valley.
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