Taxpayers on hook as NFL player's dad gets federal public defender in eagle poaching case

A bald eagle was rescued from a public safety communications tower in Monmouth County, New Jersey, after its left wing got caught on an ice shield. After hours of effort, authorities were able to free the bird — it is now recovering well.

The father of Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II has been appointed a federal public defender after federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania charged him with killing a bald eagle with an air rifle in May.

Rodney Thomas, 50, was indicted on a misdemeanor violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act in July – two months after allegedly causing an uproar in the Cherry Valley Lakeview Estates community, outside Pittsburgh, by shooting a beloved local eagle.

Thomas' financial filings used to justify the taxpayer-funded defense were not publicly available. His son played for Yale before the Colts drafted him No. 239 overall in 2022, describing him as "an off-the-radar yet extremely athletic safety."

PENNSYLVANIA BALD EAGLE POACHING SUSPECT TURNS SELF IN AFTER SHOCKING SLAY OF NEIGHBORHOOD MASCOT

Indianapolis Colt Rodney Thomas II warms up before the game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Jenna Watson/IndyStar/USA TODAY NETWORK)

His arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday morning. If convicted, he faces a maximum of a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The public defender's office for the Western District of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Everybody in the community has a pair of binoculars on the window sill in their kitchen, and we're all very protective of all of our wildlife in our lake," said Linda Carnevali, who lives in the Cherry Valley Lakeview Estates.

The eagle pair had been