Three men have pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act by illegally trafficking alligator snapping turtles in Texas.
Travis Leger, Jason Leckelt, and Rickey Simon, all of Sulphur, Louisiana, and Wilburton, Oklahoma, respectively, admitted to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act by illegally taking more than 60 large alligator snapping turtles during their multiple fishing trips to Texas in the spring and summer of 2016.
The alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles in the world and can grow to weigh more than 200 pounds with a lifespan of more than 100 years. The turtles are designated as threatened with statewide extinction under Texas State Law, which strictly prohibits anyone from taking, capturing, transporting, or selling these turtles, or attempting to do so.
Leger admitted to selling a live, illegally taken, 171-pound turtle for $1,000 and another live, illegally taken, 168-pound turtle for $500 in May and June of 2016. The turtles were later seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agents from the buyer and are currently being cared for at a private facility.
Leckelt admitted that the market value of the turtles that he illegally personally caught in Texas and sold in Louisiana during the course of the conspiracy was between $15,000 and $40,000. Simon admitted that the market value of the turtles that he caught illegally in Texas and sold in Louisiana during the course of the conspiracy was between $40,000 and $95,000.
The defendants face up to a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy convictions.
The case was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston, who said that protection of the turtles and the prevention of diseases that may spread by these actions make these prosecutions vital to the health of our natural wildlife.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Wildlife Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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