Second suspect in Stanton County bald eagle killing found, pleads guilty

STANTON, Neb. -- The Stanton County Sheriff's Office announced on Monday that the second suspect in the killing of an American Bald Eagle last year, has been arrested and has pleaded guilty. 

Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin was found and placed into federal custody last month after he was found using an assumed identity. 

Hernandez-Tziquin pleaded guilty in federal court and will be sentenced in October for violating the Bald-Golden Eagle Protection Act. 

SCSO said that Hernandez-Tziquin fled shortly after he was found in possession of a Great American Bald Eagle that he and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez had killed unlawfully in Stanton. 

Zetino-Hernandez was taken into federal custody shortly after the incident in March 2023, and was sentenced to a jail term. After he finished his sentencing, Zetino-Hernandez was deported back to Guatemala. 

Hernandez-Tziquin faces jail time and probable deportation when he is sentenced. 

SCSO said that both men were in the United States illegally.