A northern Illinois nature photographer has been found not guilty on charges of illegally taking two baby eagles from the wild.
A jury voted Thursday to acquit Steve Patterson of Oglesby, the (LaSalle) News-Tribune reported.
He was accused of illegally taking the protected birds from a spot near his home in June 2013 and arranging for their rehabilitation at a Barrington wildlife center.
Jurors acquitted Patterson even though his attorneys were not allowed to tell them the birds might have died if left on their own.
Prosecutors say Patterson should've followed orders from state Conservation Police that the birds not be touched, and that he has a history of tampering with wildlife.
A jury deadlocked during Patterson's first trial last October, although most jurors voted to convict Patterson.
