MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – A late-night traffic stop in the Florida Keys on Friday resulted in the arrest of a Lauderhill man and a court citation for a Sunrise woman after authorities discovered illegally harvested fish and lobster in their vehicle.
Richard Rhoden, 33, of Lauderhill, was taken into custody and charged with multiple wildlife violations, including possession of undersized and over-the-bag limit mangrove and lane snapper, as well as possession of out-of-season lobster.
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His passenger, Kaychin Shantoy Brooks, 30, of Sunrise, was issued a mandatory notice to appear in court for the same offenses.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office conducted the traffic stop at approximately 11:30 p.m. on U.S. 1 near Mile Marker 100. Deputies pulled over a Honda sedan for following another vehicle too closely.
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During the stop, a cooler within the vehicle was found to contain a significant number of illegal catches.
According to deputies, the inventory of catches included two lane snapper that were below the legal size limit, eleven mangrove snapper (out of a total of twelve) that were also undersized, and one lobster, which is currently out of season in Florida.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, neither Rhoden nor Brooks offered any explanation regarding how the illegally obtained fish and lobster ended up in their possession.
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