A Texas woman is going to be spending 15 days in jail for collecting 40 Queen conchs from the area around Key West and planning on cleaning them up to give away as gifts.
Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez, 30, of Dallas, pleaded no contest in court to taking the shells, saying that she didn't know it was against the law. Who would?
She and several children had captured the conches out of the water.
Gonzalez apologized not knowing that it was illegal to take the mollusks.
While Gonzalez will not have a criminal conviction on her record, Judge Mark Wilson counted the one day she had served towards a 15-day sentence, serve six months of probation and pay a $500 fine plus $268 for court costs.
What? For seashells? Seriously, this is absolutely ridiculous. Who was harmed in all of this? I'll tell you who, Ms. Gonzalez.
The Miami Herald reports:
An officer from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrested Fiscal-Gonzalez on July 13, 2017, at 1216 Watson St. in Key West after an anonymous tipster called the agency about it.FWC Officer John Martino said when he got to the house he saw a woman in plain view with three plastic containers and a water hose in the driveway. The conchs were in the containers.
After photographing the conchs, Martino returned them to the water. Most were still alive, FWC said.
Gonzalez is supposed to report to court on August 10 to begin her jail sentence.
It's things like this that demonstrate where government has gone way beyond the bounds it should be dealing it. How do Florida souvenir stores obtain and sell all those conch shells they have? By paying off the state?
Those creatures were put here by the Creator so that man might take dominion over them, not so that the state might take dominion over man for taking dominion over the creatures.
This is a serious injustice. How does a woman face a fine, a jail sentence and community service but get no criminal record? Again, what real crime was committed here? Was anyone deprived of property? What about liberty? What about life? Nope. The only one who lost in this little bit of tyranny was Ms. Gonzalez. She lost property and liberty, but in the end, the state will be the big winners in fines and taxpayer money to upkeep Gonzalez for the time she spends in jail.
Way to go Officer Martino, Florida and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. You guys must be so proud of yourselves.
If you wish to voice displeasure with the actions of the state against Ms. Gonzalez, please feel free to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 888-404-3922 or if you are on Facebook, click here to comment.