California couple revealed sea turtle skull to officers after 2023 flight, officials say
A casual conversation on a 2023 flight between a Northern California couple and state Fish and Wildlife officers exposed several wildlife crimes, including the illegal smuggling of an endangered sea turtle's skull, officials announced Tuesday.
The case began in November 2023 when two plain-clothes canine officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) were flying back to Northern California from training in San Diego, the agency said in a news release. The two officers were seated in front of a couple, Byron Lee Fitzpatrick, 24, and Shannon Lee Price, 28, who discussed hunting.
The officers conversed with the couple, who unsuspectingly revealed that they were transporting the skull of a sea turtle from the East Coast in their luggage, according to California wildlife officials. The couple also told the officers that they had unlawfully taken a mountain lion, which is a specially protected species in California that cannot be hunted or possessed.
The couple then showed a video of a close family member's "trophy room" in Napa County where multiple taxidermied mountain lions, a wolverine, and wolves were displayed, California wildfires officials said. After the flight landed, the officers asked to see the sea turtle's skull.
The couple, who "acknowledged the potential unlawful possession," waited until Transportation Security Administration agents were out of sight before they showed the officers the skull, according to the CDFW. The skull, which was hidden in a jacket inside their carry-on luggage, belonged to a green sea turtle — a federally listed endangered species that is illegal to possess and transport.
The couple's admissions of the unlawful possession of protected and endangered animals prompted an investigation led by the CDFW and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The couple as well as their relative, identified as Harry Vern Fitzpatrick, 64, were later convicted and fined for their crimes, California wildlife officials said.
California wildlife officers seized various animals
After the wildlife officers returned to their patrol districts, they wrote up search warrants for the couple’s residence in Chico, California, and the family member’s residence in Napa County, according to state wildlife officials.
The CDFW said officers found the couple processing a deer that was taken illegally while serving the search warrant in Chico. Officers also discovered that the couple illegally possessed mountain lion claws, a ringtail cat, a barn owl mount, a spike buck, and several deer with tagging violations.
"Deer season was closed, and the suspects had no deer tags," the agency noted. "Ringtail cats are a fully protected species in California. Mounted raptors and raptor parts are illegal to possess without appropriate state and federal permits."
Meanwhile, at the family member’s residence in Napa County, officers found two full-bodied, taxidermied mountain lions and one full-bodied, taxidermied wolverine, according to the CDFW. The agency added that mountain lions and wolverines are fully protected species in the Golden State.
All the animals and parts of the animals were seized from both residences by wildlife officers, and used as evidence for the prosecution in Napa County, Butte County, and in federal district court, the CDFW said.
'Flagrant disregard for laws governing natural resources'
According to the CDFW, the Butte and Napa County district attorney’s offices filed formal complaints against Lee Fitzpatrick, Lee Price, and Vern Fitzpatrick for poaching crimes. Other violations, such as the unlawful possession of the sea turtle skull, deer parts, and owl violations were turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which aided in search warrants, investigation, and prosecution.
In February 2024 in Napa County, Vern Fitzpatrick reached a plea agreement, in which he was convicted of two Fish and Game violations, fined $605, and ordered to serve six months of probation, the CDFW said. About two months later, Lee Fitzpatrick and Lee Price were each fined $1,000 for violating federal wildlife regulations and laws.
Another plea agreement was reached with the couple this year in Butte County, according to the CDFW.
On Jan. 30, Lee Fitzpatrick was convicted of two Fish and Game violations, fined $1,865, and given a year of probation, the CDFW said. Lee Price was convicted of one violation and was ordered to pay a $1,015 fine and serve a year of probation.
"(This case) highlights a broad spectrum of natural resource violations and underscores the critical role our officers play in safeguarding our resources, not only here in California but elsewhere throughout the country and abroad," CDFW Chief of Law Enforcement Nathaniel Arnold said in a statement.
"Like human and narcotics trafficking, wildlife trafficking of both live animals and animal parts is known to fund transnational criminal organizations and their violent activities all over the world," Arnold added. "The individuals involved exhibited a flagrant disregard for laws governing natural resources and are now being held accountable for their actions."