Turkey-killing spree in Kansas will cost four Mississippi hunters $48,000, feds say
Four hunters accused of crossing state lines to cart back more than two dozen wild turkeys collectively owe $48,000 in fines after they pleaded guilty to violating wildlife laws.
A federal judge also banned them from hunting anywhere in the world.
Mississippi hunters Kenneth R. Britt Jr., 51, Tony Grant Smith, 26, Barney Leon Bairfield III, 28, and Dustin Corey Treadway, 28, were sentenced to several years of probation and fined thousands of dollars each on charges of conspiring to kill wild turkeys in excess of the legal limit and illegally transporting the birds across state lines, federal prosecutors said in a news release Wednesday.
“It is my hope that this prosecution sends a strong message that the wanton, indiscriminate killing of the American Wild Turkey, or any animal for that matter, will be met with debilitating and just consequences,” Acting U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca said in the release.
Defense attorneys representing the hunters did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Thursday.
Britt, Smith, Bairfield and Treadway are from two neighboring towns — Wesson and Brookhaven — about an hour south of Jackson, Mississippi.
In 2017 and 2018, prosecutors said they traveled to Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska for spring hunting trips. None of them reportedly had the required hunting licenses.
During one eight-day trip in 2018, Britt, Smith, Bairfield and Treadway are accused of bagging at least 26 wild turkeys. In Kansas, hunters are limited to two wild turkey kills per hunter per season, prosecutors previously said.
The men reportedly took trophies back to Mississippi — including spurs and beards from the birds.
When prosecutors indicted them in August, Colonel Steve Adcock of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks called it “thievery and abuse of our valuable natural resources,” McClatchy News previously reported.
Britt, Smith, Bairfield and Treadway pleaded guilty in December, court filings show.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David Bramlette in the Southern District of Mississippi sentenced Britt to five years of probation and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine. He’s also banned from hunting for at least five years.
Smith was sentenced to four years of probation, ordered to pay a $15,000 fine and is banned for four years.
Bairfield and Treadway received two years of probation and are banned from hunting for two years. They were also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and $5,000 fine, respectively.
Under the ban, prosecutors said the men are barred from accompanying anyone who is hunting or “being present at a hunting camp during any hunting season.” Violating the hunting ban or the terms of their probation could land them behind bars.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 12:07 PM.
