Two Louisiana men were sentenced in the U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana in Alexandria for duck hunting violations.
Tyler W. Smith, 33, of St. Francisville, and Logan A. Blanchard, 25, of Oscar, both pleaded guilty to placing bait to take migratory game birds and hunting migratory game birds over a baited area. Smith also pleaded guilty to hunting migratory game birds without a state duck license and hunting without a basic hunting license.
The honorable U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph H.L. Perez-Montes accepted the guilty pleas, and sentenced Smith on Nov. 7 to pay a $3,610 fine and suspended his hunting privileges for two years. Judge Perez-Montes also sentenced Blanchard on Sept. 26 to pay a $3,540 fine and suspended his hunting privileges for three years.
The guilty pleas stem from a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement division investigation. Agents cited Smith and Blanchard on Dec. 16, 2017 for the migratory game bird hunting violations in Catahoula Parish near Harrisonburg.