Taxidermy and the law

The biggest known case of stuffed-bird trafficking has resulted in six months’ probation for a man from Eufala, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

Last year, Toney Jones pled guilty to importing a stuffed protected bird of prey without notifying the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Jones worked a farm that was owned by John Waldrop of Cataula, Georgia. Waldrop recruited Jones to receive some of the imports after he had some intercepted. Waldrop got three years’ probation and a $900,000 fine.

Waldrop had quite the collection: 1,401 bird mounts and 2,594 eggs.

There were four eagles protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 179 birds and 193 eggs of birds that are listed in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 212 birds and 32 eggs of birds that are rare or endangered.

The two men used popular online sites such as eBay and Etsy to buy the birds and eggs from numerous nations, including Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

A revealing package

Last year, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into law that requires age verification on adult websites. This week, three sponsors of the legislation received pornographic images in the mail, reports AL.com’s Mike Cason.

Politics can be gross sometimes, folks.

State Reps. Ben Robbins of Sylacauga, Susan DuBose of Hoover and David Faulkner of Mountain Brook, all Republicans, received manila envelopes with the offending images inside.

Robbins said the sender apparently was showing them that porn could still be found on social media, even after the law passed.

The effort probably won’t have much effect. Said Robbins: “Nothing can intimidate me or make me back down. I will continue to fight for our children.”

It did manage to catch the attention of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is working the potential harassment case. Investigators said that a “person of interest” has been identified.

Dothan cold case

A 15-year-old murder case in Dothan has finally led to a suspect in custody, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

Grace Bell Bridges was shot and killed March 17, 2010 during a robbery at Dedert’s Furniture Store. She was a 69-year-old mother of four who worked at the store.

Dothan Police Chief Will Benny said that murder cases never close but that cold cases are reviewed on occasion as new technology emerges or different investigative teams bring different perspectives to the department. He said the latter is what happened in this case: New investigators explored the evidence and re-interviewed witnesses until they felt good about getting an indictment.

The suspect, who’s been charged with murder, was 17 at the time of the killing, so police have not identified him. He’s 32 years old now.

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