U.S. prosecutors announced that Antonio Bertucci, age 24 of Macy, Nebraska, was sentenced this week upon his convictions for habitual domestic abuse and aiding and abetting the unlawful killing of a bald eagle. Chief United States District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Bertucci to 35 months of imprisonment on the habitual domestic abuse conviction to be followed by three years of supervised release. Bertucci was further ordered to serve one year of supervised release upon his conviction for the unlawful killing of a bald eagle.
Bertucci was convicted on two counts of habitual domestic abuse relating to incidents which occurred on October 2, 2014 and October 13, 2014 on the Omaha Indian Reservation. In each incident, Bertucci punched his live-in girlfriend in the face and also struck her in the body by either punching or kicking her. Bertucci had two previous convictions for domestic abuse assault in Woodbury County, Iowa.
In February of 2014, Bertucci was the driver of a vehicle in a field on the Omaha Indian Reservation when witnesses observed the passenger shooting at two bald eagles which were in the area. When the tribal police and the tribal game warden responded, Bertucci attempted to flee by driving away at a high rate of speed. However, he was ultimately caught when his vehicle broke down. A search of the vehicle revealed a bald eagle carcass in the trunk.
