Florida man charged over a sea turtle shell posted for sale on Facebook

A Lake Worth Beach man learned the hard way that selling body parts from an endangered species is a big no-no in Florida.

Addison Mullen, 63, was arrested July 6 on charges relating to attempting to sell or molest sea turtles, after he listed a "rare turtle shell" on Facebook Marketplace. He had hoped to get $2,700 for the shell of an endangered Atlantic hawksbill sea turtle, which are also protected by Florida's Marine Turtle Protection Act.

Molesting, illegally taking, mutilating, harassing, selling, and offering to sell any marine turtle species or hatchling or parts of any marine turtle species is considered a third-degree felony in Florida.

According to court records, an officer with the Boynton Beach Police Department contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after seeing the Facebook listing.

Mullen acknowledged ownership of the shell when FWC officers went to his home and said he would show them the shell if they had a search warrant.

"Mullen indicated he had 'paperwork' for the shell," a probable cause affidavit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court says. An officer asked if the paperwork could be viewed and Mullen said not without a search warrant.

On July 6, officers returned with a search warrant and found and seized the shell, but Mullen couldn't produce any paperwork for it. He did show officers small black and white photos of two people "holding up a much larger sea turtle, with the shell much more round in shape, similar to a Ridley or Green Turtle, both also endangered."

A biologist in an FWC lab in Tequesta confirmed the shell taken from Mullen's home was an Atlantic Hawksbill.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says hawksbill turtles "face the unique threat" of being hunted for their multi-colored mottled shells that are used to make jewelry. The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) bans the trade of any turtle products on the international market, but "illegal" hunting continues, NOAA says.

Where are Atlantic Hawksbill turtles found in Florida?

In the U.S., the biggest nesting aggregations of hawksbills are in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"In the continental United States, nesting is rare and is restricted primarily to the southeast coast of Florida and the Florida Keys," according to NOAA.

Crimes against sea turtles in Florida often involve stealing their eggs. In 2018, two men from Riviera Beach were sentenced to seven months each in federal prison for stealing more than 670 sea turtle eggs from a beach in St. Lucie County.

* In July 2016, a Tequesta man was caught stealing 107 loggerhead sea turtle eggs from a Jupiter Island beach. He was placed on three years of probation after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

* In 2014, a Riviera Beach man was caught with 299 eggs on Hutchinson Island. The repeat offender was sentenced in February 2015 to 14 months in prison.

Mullen paid $5,000 in bail and was released. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20. A third-degree felony is the least severe in Florida but is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida man charged after trying to sell sea turtle shell on Facebook

Reporting by Kimberly Miller, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida / Palm Beach Post

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