Countywide : Probation Given for Reptile Possession

A Mission Viejo man was ordered to pay more than $2,800 and sentenced to three years’ probation for illegally possessing 22 reptiles that he had taken from the California desert.

Scott S. Craig, 33, pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of illegal wildlife possession. He was sentenced Monday in Laguna Niguel by Municipal Judge Ronald Kreber.

State wildlife wardens believe that Craig collected the creatures to sell them, based on advertisements they saw in local papers.

“We consider him to be one of the largest abusers of wildlife-for-profit we know of,” said Jan Heppert, the state Department of Fish and Game warden who investigated the case.

Under terms of the sentence, Craig is prohibited from collecting or possessing any California wildlife for three years, and is subject to immediate search and seizure by wardens during that time.

“He can’t even go dove hunting or fishing now,” Heppert said.

Thirteen live snakes, including seven rattlesnakes, and nine other live reptiles were confiscated from Craig’s living room in May, 1991, by Fish and Game wardens. Included were a Gila monster, an iguana, two chuckwallas and an alligator lizard. Also seized were a chipmunk and a frog.

Some of the species, such as the Gila monster, are protected by state wildlife law and cannot be legally possessed at any time. Several, such as the iguana and some of the rattlesnakes, would have been legal to possess only if Craig had had a license.

Trading reptiles can be extremely profitable, Heppert said.

“He was selling the Gila monsters for about $1,200 apiece. He had no other way of making a living as far as we can tell,” she said.

The animals were taken to a local veterinarian for care, but several died after contracting a disease.

Kreber fined Craig $540 and ordered him to pay $1,800 to the veterinarian and $500 to the Fish and Game Department to cover investigation costs.