Teen pleads guilty in bald eagle shooting

MUSKEGON (AP) — A Muskegon County teenager has pleaded guilty to a charge of killing a bald eagle, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. Kyle Howell, 17, of Muskegon Township, also pleaded guilty Tuesday in Muskegon County Family Court to killing a threatened species, a 90-day misdemeanor.

Howell, who was 16 at the time of the crimes, will be sentenced Dec. 14. Judge John C. Ruck will have the option of sentencing him as either an adult or a juvenile.

"We will be arguing rather vigorously for a juvenile disposition," Howell's lawyer, David Williams, told the judge.

The prosecutor's office will seek the maximum possible sentence.

Authorities said Howell and co-defendant Ryan M. Armstrong, now 18, of Laketon Township, shot two bald eagles in the Muskegon State Game Area on April 18, 2004, and used a hatchet to chop up the large birds. Eagles are an endangered species protected by state and federal laws.

A preliminary hearing for Armstrong, who has been charged with the same crimes as Howell, is set for Thursday.