“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. The individuals involved exhibited a flagrant disregard for laws governing natural resources and are now being held accountable for their actions,” said Nathanial Arnold, CDFW chief of law enforcement, in the announcement.
The investigation started in November 2023 when two canine officers were flying back to Northern California from San Diego.
The officers, dressed in plain clothes, sat in front of the Chico couple, who were discussing hunting. After the officers joined their conversation, the couple revealed they were transporting a sea turtle skull in their luggage from the East Coast, according to CDFW. They also said they unlawfully took a mountain lion, which is a protected species and illegal to hunt or possess in California.
In addition, they said another family member had multiple taxidermized mountain lions, a wolverine, and wolves at a home in Napa County. The couple showed the officers a video of the family member’s “trophy room” with the animals on display.
When they exited the plane, the officers asked to see the sea turtle skull. The couple obliged, once they were out of view of Transportation Security Administration officers, and revealed it hidden in a jacket in their carry-on luggage.
“The skull belonged to a green sea turtle, a federally listed endangered species illegal to possess and transport,” according to CDFW.
After the wildlife officers returned to their patrol districts, they authored search warrants for the couple’s and family member’s homes in Chico and Napa County.
At the couple’s home, officers found several deer, mountain lion claws, a ringtail cat, a barn owl mount, and an illegal spike buck.
At the family member’s residence, officers found two full-bodied taxidermized mountain lions and one taxidermized wolverine. All are protected species and illegal to possess in California.
The Butte and Napa County district attorney’s offices filed complaints against 24-year-old Byron Lee Fitzpatrick, 28-year-old Shannon Lee Price, and 64-year-old Harry Vern Fitzpatrick.
All three individuals pled guilty. In a plea agreement, Byron Lee Fitzpatrick and Price were fined $1,000 each. Harry Vern Fitzpatrick was fined $605, ordered to serve six months probation, and forfeited all his unlawfully acquired wildlife possessions.
