LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Southern California man has been arrested on charges that he sold feathers from bald eagles and other protected birds.
Twenty-seven-year-old Tyler Vela of Santa Ana was arrested Tuesday. It's unclear whether he has an attorney.
Vela was charged in Los Angeles last week with violating federal bird protection acts by illegally trafficking the feathers of bald eagles, red-tail hawks and turkey vultures.
Federal prosecutors say he sold items made with the feathers to undercover agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who made contact through Facebook.
The items were known as "bustles" and they're worn as decorations during Native American dance exhibitions.
If he's convicted, Vela could face up to a year in federal prison.