Man charged with trafficking in eagle or hawk parts
A 53-year-old Columbia Falls man was arraigned on a charge of trafficking in eagle or hawk parts on Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court in Missoula.
Jeffrey Bronson faces up to two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release if convicted. He pleaded not guilty and is currently released on special conditions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case.
Bronson was wanted last year for bail jumping after he was charged with writing 15 bad checks and failing to show up at two initial arraignment hearings in Flathead County District Court.
According to court records, Bronson allegedly wrote a $1,550 bad check for a purchase at United Tool Rental in November 2009. A bench warrant for Bronson was issued by Judge Stewart Stadler in June 2010, but the case was dismissed with prejudice one month later by Judge Ted Lympus.
A new charge of issuing bad checks was made in 2011 after Bronson allegedly wrote 15 bad checks totaling $1,425 for purchases around the valley.
He was arrested on Oct. 7, 2011, and posted a $3,000 bond the next day, but he failed to appear at his initial arraignment and the bond was forfeited. He was arrested again on Nov. 4, 2011, and posted a $5,000 bond but failed to appear at his initial arraignment.
Judge Katherine Curtis issued a bench warrant for Bronson on Dec. 2, 2011, and set bail at $10,000. Stadler ordered Bronson’s bail forfeited on Jan. 3.
Bronson showed up for a change of plea hearing on April 19. According to a plea agreement, in exchange for pleading guilty to issuing a bad check, the bail-jumping charge would be dismissed, Bronson would pay the court $1,788 before sentencing, and the state would recommend a two-year deferred sentence with the Department of Corrections.
Then in July, Bronson’s public defender filed a motion requesting that he be committed to a mental health facility. Following an evaluation, Dr. Vincent River at the Department of Public Health and Human Services said Bronson was “unfit to proceed in facing his legal situation.”
Lympus agreed and granted the motion, suspending the proceedings against Bronson. Stadler dismissed the bad check charge on Nov. 5 without prejudice. About a month later, Bronson was arraigned on federal charges in Missoula.