Hallwood, Va. – A months-long federal investigation has concluded with a guilty plea from an Accomack County man who admitted to illegally killing more than 20 bald eagles and hawks on his property. According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, the case began during the 2023 to 2024 waterfowl season after an anonymous tip led investigators to a pole trap near a private impoundment in Hallwood. Authorities say they found a dead juvenile bald eagle at the scene and later confirmed it had been poisoned with carbofuran, a banned neurotoxin pulled from U.S. markets in 2009.
Using surveillance cameras, investigators captured footage of a red-tailed hawk being trapped and fatally bludgeoned. Over several weeks, they found multiple signs of poisoned bait, including piles of fish heads surrounded by dead flies. In March 2023, the property owner, William Custis Smith, admitted to setting poisoned bait and using the trap to kill hawks and eagles, claiming they were targeting waterfowl he had lured to the area. Smith pleaded guilty in federal court in March 2025 to unlawfully taking a bald eagle. He was sentenced to one day in jail, two years of probation, 50 hours of community service, and fined $9,800. Wildlife officials say Smith knowingly violated federal law. His actions had a significant ecological impact during a vulnerable time of year for migrating birds of prey. Authorities emphasized the sentence as a deterrent against future violations.
