Ashtyn Rance Pleads Guilty to Snake Trafficking, Gun Charges

VALDOSTA, Ga. — A Florida reptile dealer cut a deal with federal prosecutors after shipping venomous snakes and protected turtles through the U.S. mail in a black-market pipeline to China. Ashtyn Michael Rance, 35, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty Thursday, Nov. 18, to one count of Lacey Act Trafficking and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The charges stem from a covert operation that exposed how endangered reptiles were smuggled across state lines and shipped overseas under false labels.

Rance admitted to shipping 19 protected turtles—three eastern box turtles and 16 spotted turtles—from his Valdosta residence to a middleman in Florida, knowing full well they were destined for China. He was paid $3,300 for the illegal shipment, which was falsely labeled “Live Tropical Fish” when it left Georgia on Feb. 22, 2018. Less than three months later, on May 10, 2018, Rance packed 15 Gaboon vipers—highly venomous snakes capable of killing a human—in a package labeled as containing harmless reptiles and ball pythons. The box was en route to Florida, with China as the final stop.

Law enforcement intercepted the scheme on May 11, 2018, when they raided Rance’s Valdosta home with a search warrant. Inside, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) found not only evidence of reptile trafficking, but a Bushmaster Carbine .223 caliber rifle and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. As a convicted felon, Rance is barred by federal law from owning any firearm—a second felony charge that compounded his downfall.

The federal Lacey Act, passed in 1900, is the nation’s oldest wildlife protection statute and makes it a crime to transport animals across state lines if they were taken in violation of state or foreign law. Rance acknowledged in court that his possession and sale of the reptiles violated Georgia law. The act also criminalizes mislabeling wildlife shipments—a key element in the government’s case. Both the eastern box turtle and the spotted turtle are protected under various state regulations due to declining populations and high demand in the exotic pet trade.

Peter D. Leary, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, made it clear that such trafficking doesn’t just threaten ecosystems—it endangers people. “Trafficking venomous or endangered wildlife through the mail clearly puts the delivery couriers and the public at risk and can harm the boxed animals,” Leary said. “Our office will enforce Lacey Act law put in place to protect the public and our nation’s wildlife.”

Rance now faces up to five years in prison for the Lacey Act violation and up to 10 years for the firearm charge, with a $250,000 fine possible on each count. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2022, in Valdosta. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonja Profit and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Ryan Conners as part of Operation Middleman, a multi-agency crackdown on illegal reptile smuggling tied to international black markets.