A federal judge found two Beaver County men guilty of charges filed in the poisoning death of migratory birds in June 2020 on farmland leased by one of the defendants.

Robert Yost, 52, of New Galilee, and Jacob Reese, 27, of Enon Valley, were found guilty of three charges related to the unlawful killing of migratory birds, according to U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan.

U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy issued the order Friday, Jan. 25, following a nonjury trial in October 2022, Olshan said. Yost, who operates Yost Farms in Beaver County, and Reese, an employee, were found guilty of using carbofuran, a registered restricted-use pesticide, to kill migratory birds on farmland leased by Yost Farms, according to Olshan.

Yost directed Reese to spread whole kernel corn coated in carbofuran in and around a leased field that was used to grow soybeans, and was accessible to children, Olshan said. The tainted corn attracted protected migratory birds that were killed near the site where they ate the corn, Olshan said.

He said Yost and Reese were responsible for killing about 17 Canada geese, 10 red-winged blackbirds, and one mallard duck.