3 charged after drunken spree kills rare Death Valley fish [View all]

[Miles Archer]

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2016/05/13/3-charged-after-drunken-spree-kills-rare-death-valley-fish/84341560/

Three men face federal charges of killing an endangered species after police say their drunken skinny-dipping killed a rare fish at Devils Hole in Death Valley National Park last month.

Based on interviews with the suspects and an investigation of the crime scene, the Nye County Sheriff's Office alleges that the threesome were out drinking and hunting rabbits when they came to Devils Hole. After shooting an electronic sensor, damaging two surveillance cameras and ramming two gates protecting the off-limits area, at least one of the men took off his clothes and went in the water of Devils Hole.

"The suspect(s) in the water stomped around the shelf area of the critical ecosystem before swimming around the deeper water, leaving behind a pair of dirty underwear when finished," the sheriff's office said in a press release.

Beer cans and vomit were also found at the scene.