A Florida Keys man tried to steal 16 lobster tails by stuffing them down his pants, FL Keys News reported. On Tuesday (October 13) around 4:30 p.m., officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) were doing inspections on the docks at Nichols Seafood fish house on Conch Key. Officials said 27-year-old Gerry Lee Pinson, of Marathon, tried to leave the area after the Life Force vessel pulled in.
FWC officers stopped the deckhand and told him to stay with the boat until they complete the inspection. While Pinson was helping the other deckhands unload lobster pants, officers noticed something off with the way he walked. They "noticed Pinson was holding up his rain slicker pants and walking awkwardly while his leg bottoms of the slicker were bulging," according to FWC.
When FWC officers asked the Marathon man what was in his pants, Pinson replied that he had lobster tails on his person. An FWC officer untucked the slicker pants from Pinson's boots, and 16 wrung lobsters fell out. "A lobster’s tail cannot be wrung, or separated, from its body while the harvester is on the water. Lobsters must be brought back to land in whole condition. And when the tail is separated from the body on land, it must be longer than 5 1/2 inches," according to FL Keys News. Pinson told authorities he was going to take them home to eat.
Pinson was arrested and charged with misdemeanor charges of theft, possession of wrung lobster tails while on the water and possession of one undersized lobster tail. He was released the next day without having to post bond. FL Keys News said the boat captain told FWC he wanted to press charges for theft.
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