Abalone, drugs and turtles: Windsor police discover an unusual transport of vehicles

A search for the late vehicle-night In Windsor, he led the police in a trove of illicit discoveries: almost three dozens illegally harvested Abalone – large marine snails appreciated as delicate and protected due to their diminished population – together with a turtle from the north – Vest, methamphetamine and drug parafernal, said the authorities.

A The deputy approached the vehicle around 10:30 on Wednesday, in block 700 in Shiloh Road, just outside the 101 motorway near Charles M. Schulz-Zonoma County Airport, SGT Police Windsor. Jason Little said in a statement.

The driver, Jason Ramos, 46, was at post-liberty community surveillance and criminal evidence, with mandates of special crimes in Lake and Mendocino counties. His passenger acknowledged that he has Meth and hypodermic needles.

While the deputy searched the vehicle, the case took an unexpected turn. Among the wet clothing and tools used for feeding, he found about 35 live abalones, a species that was outside the limits to California recreational harvesting From 2017.

A turtle from the northern pond -the west, an indigenous species considered to be in danger in California, was also found inside. Although it is classified as a species of special concern, it has no formal protection in accordance with the Law on endangered species. Proposal of the US Fish and Wild Animal Service its listing as threatened In 2023, but a final decision has not yet been taken.

For centuries, indigenous communities have durably harvested Abalone, but excessive fishing, poaching and environmental changes and devastated populations. Once abundant along the California coast, Abalone are now protected due to their slow reproduction and vulnerability to climate threats.

The Department of Wilds and Wild Animals in California closed the Red Abalone fishing in 2018, expanding the morals until at least December 2026. When fishing will reopen, harvesting will remain closely regulated. In 2022, state officials moved from a fishing management plan to a Larger species recovery strategywhich aims to restore populations through adaptive climate conservation efforts.

The illegal poaching threatens the populations of abalone and could delay the reopening of recreational harvesting, according to Fish and Wildlife officials.

Authorities said Ramos acknowledged that he had collected Abalone near the city of Elk in Mendocino County, saying he intends to eat them.

Due to their condition, the confiscated abalone could not be returned to the ocean and was eliminated, the police said. The turtle in the pond was transmitted to the animal services in Sonoma county and subsequently released in the wild.

Both Ramos and the passenger were arrested and taken to the prison in Sonoma county. Ramos was reserved under the suspicion of violation of the crime of the supervision of the post-equivalent community, the violation of the probation and the possession of an illegal creature, together with its exceptional mandates.

On Thursday, the prosecutor of the Sonoma County District officially accused Ramos of holding an illegally taken creature and removing abalones from the legal geographical area. He remained in arrest on Monday, on bail of $ 10,000.

The passenger was suspected of holding a controlled substance. She was not in arrest for months, and the prosecutors did not file accusations against her.

You can reach your personnel writer Madison Smalstig at [email protected]. On x (twitter) @madi.smals.