Inmate Charged with Feeding Pet Iguana to an Alligator

RIP Mojo the Iguana

I didn’t know this, but apparently the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has a small animal farm at their facility on Stock Key in the Florida Keys, where about 150 animals reside. Inmates at the adjacent jail facility can get details at the zoo, helping to care for the animals, though apparently feeding the reptiles is not one of the inmate duties. The animal farm has become an attraction on the island, where it is open for free to the public twice per month and for special occasions and is popular with local families.

Jason Gibson

Inmate Jason Gibson was an inmate at the jail, and landed a detail working at the animal farm. That is, he worked there until he tossed an iguana named “Mojo” into the gator enclosure, where an alligator killed it. It was particularly distressing for those who worked at the farm, as Mojo had been a resident there for at least 13 years, and was considered more of a pet. The inmates who spoke to police were reportedly heartbroken. Gibson admitted to the deed, as well as another iguana a few weeks earlier. Gibson is facing two felony animal cruelty charges, in addition to the vehicular theft charge that landed him in custody in the first place. Crimcourts continues to keep you up date on all alligator related criminal law!

Man Gets $1.4 Million Dollar Bond for Undersize Lobster Tails

Tails Seized by Monroe SO

A Miami man caught with a bunch of undersized lobster tails was arrested and given bond totaling 1.4 million dollars in Monroe County. Now, to be sure, he got caught with a lot (246) of undersized lobsters, and he has actually been caught stealing undersized lobsters before, so this isn’t his first rodeo. Still, a bond as high as the annual salary for an NFL player might be a little on the high side.

Unless this guy, Jorge Vargas, has massive independent wealth (which I doubt, since he’s stealing seafood), this is essentially a no bond hold. The court is directed to take into account a lot of things when setting bond, including his means to pay, his likelihood of showing up to court dates (he’s apparently missed them before), the threat to the community, and prior record. While his record of similar offenses, and especially if he’s missed a court date on criminal charges, would suggest a higher bond, that is an awful lot of zeros to put up there on a fish case. To be entitled to a no bond hold (pretrial detention without bond), the state has to make a showing of the strength of their case, and why no bond could protect the community. There’s no indication that this guy is violent or anything like that, so the bond is likely too high under Florida law.

This case may be ripe for a habeas corpus, essentially an appeal to the higher court to order the lower court to reevaluate the bond on the case. Even if he gets the bond lowered, it will still be relatively high due to his record, and the volume of lobster he had taken. And even if he can post bond, that’s just to assure his presence in court… he may be facing some substantial incarceration if he is ultimately convicted of 246 counts of possession of undersized lobsters!