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5/24/2007~SEVEN CALIFORNIA `ROLLER PIGEON' ENTHUSIASTS CHARGED W... Page 3 of 4 <br />-- Brian McCormick, 40, of Norco, apast-president of the California <br />Performance Roller Club. <br />-- Timothy Decker, 60, of Mira Loma. <br />-- Rayvon Hall, 46, of Rialto. <br />Navarro, London, McGhee and McCormick made their initial court <br />appearances yesterday afternoon and were released on bond. They <br />are scheduled to be arraigned next month. Decker and Hall remain in <br />custody and are expected to make their initial court appearances this <br />afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. <br />An arrest warrant has been issued for the seventh defendant ? Efren <br />Lopez Jr., 28, of Hacienda Heights. <br />Each of the offenses charged against the defendants carries a <br />maximum possible penalty of six months in federal prison. <br />Criminal complaints contain allegations that a defendant has <br />committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and <br />unless proven guilty. <br />The cases announced today are the product of an ongoing <br />investigation by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which <br />conserves and manages the 913 native species/populations of <br />migratory birds. The California Department of Fish and Game assisted <br />in the arrests made yesterday. <br />In other districts, federal authorities have charged several individuals <br />as a result of Operation High Roller. <br />The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon filed <br />charges on Monday against Mitch Reed, 29, of Mount Angel, Oregon, <br />and Peter Kaufman, 53, of Portland, Oregon, who were each charged <br />with one count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by attempting <br />to take a raptor. Ivan Hanchett, 54, of Hillsboro, Oregon, was charged <br />with two counts of violating the act. Reed, Kaufman and Hanchett are <br />expected to make their initial court appearances in the coming weeks. <br />Federal prosecutors in Houston filed charges yesterday against Neil <br />Keng, 58, of Laporte, Texas, a member of a local pigeon racing club, <br />for trapping a Cooper's Hawk in his backyard in December 2006. Keng <br />will be summoned to appear in court in the coming weeks. <br />The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency <br />responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and <br />plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American <br />http://www. fws.gov/news/newsreleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=BE93 5795-974F-4768-D... 12/5/2007 <br />