NFL security Rodney Thomas’ father arrested for fatally taking pictures bald eagle

This Colt’s dad apparently has a grudge towards the Eagles.

The Pennsylvania man accused of taking pictures to demise a beloved bald eagle in a Pittsburgh suburb in Could has been recognized as the daddy of Indianapolis Colts security Rodney Thomas II, information present.

The elder Rodney Thomas, 50, of Canonsburg, PA, was indicted by a Pittsburgh federal grand jury in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Safety Act, the US Legal professional’s Workplace introduced this week.

Thomas  surrendered himself to authorities shortly after allegedly blasting the bird to death Could 12 with an air rifle in Mount Nice, PA, however authorities waited greater than two months earlier than releasing his title or expenses. Mount Nice residents had been outraged by the foot-dragging.

The doomed eagle was one in every of two that nested for practically twenty years within the space.

One couple instructed The Publish that locals named the majestic hen “Sam,” after the character in Disney’s Muppet Imaginative and prescient 3D.

Thomas II, 25, was a standout at Yale College and was picked by the Colts within the seventh spherical of the 2022 NFL Draft.

He had a productive rookie season — regardless of the membership’s horrid 4-12-1 report, which included a 17-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Thomas was launched on $10,000 bail and faces as much as $5,000 in fines and a yr behind bars. The Colts and Rodney Thomas II declined remark.

“This workplace stays dedicated to investigating and prosecuting environmental and wildlife offenses underneath federal regulation, together with the illegal killing of bald eagles — the USA’ nationwide hen since 1782,” Pittsburgh U.S. Legal professional Eric G. Olshan mentioned.