Wildlife Officials: 2 Riviera Beach Men Busted In Possession Of 93 Sea Turtle Eggs

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested two men over Memorial Day weekend, accused of taking dozens of turtle eggs, wildlife officials said.

Both Riviera Beach men have had previous encounters with the law for mishandling sea turtle eggs, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Bruce Bivins, 63, was spotted putting objects he dug out of the sand into a dark bag as he walked on Singer Island, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission affidavit said. An officer later stopped Bivins, who was in a truck driven by Carl Cobb, 63, the affidavit said.

Officers found 93 sea turtle eggs in a bag, the report said.

Bivins and Cobb were each charged with unlawful possession of more than 11 sea turtle eggs, which is a third-degree felony.

Jail records didn't list an attorney for either man.

In 2018, Cobb was sentenced to seven months in prison after a conviction on two counts of transporting sea turtle eggs, the newspaper reported.

Bivins was sentenced to 90 days in jail for misdemeanor possession of marine turtle eggs in 1997. He was arrested in 2009 after he was found carrying a bag of 119 turtle eggs. The state didn't pursue charges in the case, the Post reported.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)