Makah whalers’ plea deal falls apart in federal court

Published 12:16 pm Monday, March 24, 2008

Peninsula Daily News news sources

TACOMA — A plea agreement involving five members of the Makah tribe who killed a gray whale during an unauthorized hunt last September has fallen apart after federal prosecutors said in court they might seek to curtail the defendants’ hunting rights.

The defendants apparently expected they might get probation and that the government had agreed not to recommend jail time.

But as a federal magistrate judge in Tacoma expressed confusion Monday over what sentence the men could face, Seattle U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan stepped forward to say the government might seek to curtail the men’s hunting rights.

The judge turned to the defendants and asked if this was news to them. One of the whalers, Andy Noel, replied: “Yes, it is, and I don’t agree with it.”

A full report will appear in Tuesday’s editions of the Peninsula Daily News.