2 Men Get Jail Time For Poaching Sea Turtle Eggs

MIAMI, FL — Two South Florida men have been ordered to serve seven months in a federal prison for attempting to steal hundreds of sea turtle eggs from a Florida beach. Carl Lawrence Cobb and Raymond Saunders were both convicted of two counts of transporting sea turtle eggs for the purpose of sale. Both men are from Riviera Beach in Palm Beach County but the theft occurred in North Hutchinson Island, which is located in St. Lucie County.

The sentence was announced on Wednesday in Miami by U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg; Resident Agent In Charge Andrew Aloise of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Maj. Olin Rondeau of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Southern Region.

Federal prosecutors said that FWC was alerted to the poaching by a concerned citizen.

"A law enforcement investigation revealed that Cobb had removed over 200 eggs from two sea turtle nests," prosecutors said. "On May 24, 2017 law enforcement officials observed Cobb and Saunders remove approximately 469 sea turtle eggs from nests on North Hutchinson Island."

According to FWC, sea turtles are among the oldest creatures on earth, including five species found in Florida.

"Three — the loggerhead (Caretta caretta), the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), nest regularly," according to FWC. "Two other species, the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), nest infrequently. All five species are listed as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act."

The 60-year-old Cobb and 50-year-old Saunders were arrested as they were attempting to transport the eggs back to Palm Beach County, according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra also sentenced Cobb and Saunders to undergo two years of supervised release and ordered them to pay $227 each in restitution to the state of Florida.

Prosecutors said some of the sea turtle eggs may still have been viable after the theft. "The recovered eggs were relocated by marine biologists in the hope that some of them will yield hatchlings," officials added.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Butler.

Photo of a sea turtle nest courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission