Man pleads guilty to trying to sell Geronimo's headdress

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A man pleaded guilty to trying to sell an eagle feather headdress last worn by Apache leader Geronimo and was sentenced to six months of probation. <br><br>Leighton Deming of Suwanee,

Friday, February 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A man pleaded guilty to trying to sell an eagle feather headdress last worn by Apache leader Geronimo and was sentenced to six months of probation.

Leighton Deming of Suwanee, Ga., could have been fined Thursday up to $15,000 or sentenced to six months in prison for violating the U.S. Migratory Bird Protection Act. Part of the act prohibits trafficking in golden eagle feathers.

Deming was also ordered to forfeit the $1 million, 93-year-old headdress. The headdress had been given to Deming's grandfather and was considered a precious family heirloom. "I feel really bad about this. I'm sorry it ever occurred. It's been devastating to my family," Deming told Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Melinson. Another man arrested with Deming -- Thomas Marciano, 42, of Atlanta -- has not yet gone to trial.

The elaborate, full-length war bonnet, which U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials estimate was made from the tail feathers of at least six golden eagles, was stored in a trunk for more than 90 years. It was being offered for sale on the Internet for $1.2 million.

Several museums have asked for the headdress. Geronimo lived at Fort Sill, Okla., as a prisoner of war until his death in 1909. The headdress was reportedly worn by the Indian chief in 1907 during the last powwow held in Indian territory that later became Oklahoma.