PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island environmental officials say a man has been charged with shooting and killing a federally protected bird.
The state Department of Environmental Management’s law enforcement division said Tuesday that Brian Briggs, of South Kingstown, was arraigned Tuesday on multiple charges. He was released on $5,000 personal recognizance.
DEM says police requested its assistance regarding a complaint alleging Briggs fired a shotgun and hit a house.
The agency says environmental police discovered seven firearms, three deer heads that had been taken without reporting and a freshly-killed Great Blue Heron- a federally-protected bird -on Briggs’ property.
The 56-year-old Briggs faces charges that include killing/possessing a protected bird and unlawful possession of deer. Court records don’t list an attorney for him.
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