March 1, 2012
From St. Augustin.com
ST. AUGUSTINE
St. Johns County men arrested in undercover
operation by Fish and Wildlife officials: Three St. Johns County men
were among those arrested Wednesday following an investigation by
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that spanned
five counties.
The 15-month operation targeted individuals
who illegally harvested, bought and sold protected species of the
state’s fish and wildlife resources.
There were more than
300 criminal violations by 56 individuals in Putnam, St. Johns,
Alachua, Volusia and Marion counties, according to a report from
FWC. Charges include 34 felonies and 280 misdemeanors related to
buying and selling deer, turtles, and saltwater and freshwater fish.
The three men arrested in St. Johns County in connection with
the investigation were Christopher Lee Hobbs, 23, of St. Augustine;
David Page Hays, 25, of Hastings; and James Thomas Sims, 28, of
Elkton.
Sims and Hays were both charged with felonies and
misdemeanors relating to the illegal possession and sale of deer,
said Joy Hill, FWC public information officer. Hobbs was charged
with misdemeanors relating to the illegal sale of saltwater products
and selling saltwater products without a valid license.
“Our
undercover officers did a phenomenal job identifying individuals who
were profiting from the illegal commercialization of fish and
wildlife,”
said Capt. Gregg Eason, investigative captain for the
FWC’s Northeast Region. “When people illegally buy and sell fish and
wildlife, they are depleting not only the resource, but also the
profits that could be made by legitimate, law-abiding businesses
that deal in legal fish and wildlife.”
* Who: Hays, David
Page, 25, Hastings. Charge: Illegal possession or sale of deer or
wild turkey — five counts. (SJCSO)
* Who: Hobbs, Christopher
Lee, 23, St. Augustine. Charge: Florida administrative code
violation — two counts; selling, purchasing or attempting to sell or
purchase any saltwater product with a suspended license — 10 counts;
possession of any species of trout, snook, or redfish which is three
fish in excess of the recreational or commercial daily bag
limit
— three counts; conservation violation — one count. (SJCSO)
* Who: Sims, James Thomas, 28, Elkton. Charge: Illegal taking or
possession of deer or wild turkey — six counts. (SJCSO)
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain copyrighted material
whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. We believe
that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes
a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section
107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted
material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must
obtain permission from the copyright owner.
