Watch CBS News

NJ Man Accused Of Shooting Protected Hawks

By David Madden

SOMERS POINT, N.J. (CBS) - A homeowner down the shore apparently got tired of birds around his house. The action he allegedly tooK has him in trouble with the feds.

Neighbors of 68-year-old Robert Losasso in Somers Point, New Jersey have complained for the last couple years that he's been shooting at birds from the back yard of his house, causing damage to their homes.

Sounds like a job for local police, right? It turns out some of those birds are endangered.

"Over the course of several months, he has killed six protected hawks and doing it in a particularly dangerous way -- shooting out of the sliding glass doors of his house in a residential neighborhood," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said.

Agents recorded some of those shootings from a neighbor's yard and recovered a rifle and a pellet gun from Losasso, both with scopes on them.

He faces a half-dozen counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and could go to jail for up to three years for that.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.