She stole seashells: Tourist is sentenced to 15 days in jail for picking conches off a Florida Keys beach even though ‘she didn’t realize it was illegal’
- Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez, 30, ordered to serve 15 days in Monroe County jail
- Fiscal-Gonzalez pleaded no contest to taking 40 queen conchs in Florida Keys
- She was also ordered to pay a $500 fine as well as $268 for court costs
A Texas woman has been sentenced to 15 days in jail for taking 40 queen conchs in the Florida Keys.
Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez, 30, was sentenced last week after pleading no contest to taking the mollusks, the Miami Herald reported.
She must also pay a $500 fine plus $268 for court costs.
The judge withheld adjudication, meaning she won’t have a criminal conviction on her record.
Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez (left), 30, was sentenced last week to 15 days in a Florida jail for taking 40 queen conchs in the Florida Keys. Officer John Martino of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found Fiscal-Gonzalez with the conchs
The officer photographed the conchs and returned them to the ocean. Most were still alive
A Florida wildlife officer arrested the Dallas woman last July outside a Key West home, where she had the state-protected animals in three plastic containers.
The officer photographed the conchs and returned them to the ocean. Most were still alive.
Fiscal-Gonzalez said she was taking the conchs for gifts and didn’t realize it was illegal.
She must report to the Monroe County jail Aug. 10.
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