Jan 9, 2009 8:23 pm US/Pacific
Five Santa Rosa Men Arrested For Abalone Poaching
SANTA ROSA (BCN) ―
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Five Santa Rosa men were arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of poaching abalone for commercial sale.
CBS 5
Five Santa Rosa men were arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of poaching abalone for commercial sale on a beach in Fort Ross, the state Department of Fish and Game said.
Department of Fish and Game spokesman and warden Patrick Foy said the suspects threw 31 abalone in a duffel bag and backpacks from their speeding vehicle along state Highway 1 as they were pursued by Fish and Game wardens.
Game Warden Joe Laugesen contacted Charles Lester Miller IV, 20, and Michael Ray Phipps, 19, of Santa Rosa after Miller completed a scuba dive near Fort Ross Thursday afternoon, Foy said.
Laugesen recognized Miller because he was arrested in November for possession of more than three but less than a dozen abalone for commercial sale, Foy said. That case is still being adjudicated in court.
Laugesen let Miller and Phipps go because everything seemed in order but he still suspected something was amiss, Foy said.
Laugesen discovered what appeared to be a hidden cache of abalone under rocks on the beach. Wardens conducted surveillance of the beach area until just after midnight when Miller and Phipps reappeared with three other men in two vehicles, Foy said.
The suspects took counter surveillance measures by switching cars, passing the area several times and searching for lookouts, Foy said.
Around 2:30 a.m. the suspected poachers recovered their stashed abalone on the beach, Foy said. The wardens allowed them to leave the scene but followed them on Highway 1, Foy said.
Laugesen saw the duffel bag and two backpacks containing abalone thrown from the vehicle with the five suspects and followed until the suspects finally stopped, Foy said. The wardens confiscated the abalone, Foy said.
Miller, Phipps, Joshua Cowan Berto, 19, Joshua William Stockman, 19, and Colin Robert Devlin, 20, were arrested for conspiracy to poach abalone for commercial sale and other charges, Foy said. All were booked into the Sonoma County jail.
It is illegal to take more then three abalone during the season, Foy said. The season closed Nov. 30 and reopens April 1.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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