Attempted sale of protected gopher tortoises
Ocala, FL (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 11, 2007
County: Marion

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Richard Leonard Mann

A 41-year-old Ocala, Fla., man is accused of catching threatened gopher tortoises and trying to sell them as food for drug money, according to officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Agents said Richard Leonard Mann faces six counts of possession of gopher tortoises, six counts of taking gopher tortoises and one count of attempting to sell a tortoise.

Officials said Mann used a hook to pull the turtles out of their shells so he could sell them as food.

They said he then planned to use the money to buy drugs, according to the report.

A Marion County wildlife rehabilitator took the five surviving tortoises to her facility Wednesday afternoon and will give them health checks before FWC biologists release the tortoises into appropriate habitat.

Mann was taken into custody after a routine traffic stop.

References

• Local 6 News - April 12, 2007

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