Three plead guilty in rogue whale hunt
March 28th, 2008 - 6:31am
(Tacoma) - Three members of the Makah Tribe who
participated in the rogue hunt and killing of a gray whale last
September have pleaded guilty to a federal midemeanor charge, while
two others plan to go to trial in April.
Theron Parker, William Secor Sr. and Frankie Gonzales each
admitted in U.S. District Court yesterday that they violated the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, after prosecutors agreed they would
not recommend jail time or seek to curtail the men's hunting
rights. Sentencing is set for June 6.
Wayne Johnson and Andy Noel, the two leaders of the hunt,
declined the plea deal and decided to take their cases to trial,
scheduled for April 8.
Prosecutors say the five took two motorboats into the Strait of
Juan de Fuca, off Washington's northwestern tip, and shot the
California gray whale at least 16 times with at least one of the
three high-powered rifles they had obtained from the tribe.
The men did not have the tribe's permission for the hunt, nor
did they have a federal permit to kill the whale, which eventually
sank in the strait and was not harvested.
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