Suspects admit to taking oysters and arranging sales on social media, LDWF says
Agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office arrested three men on Sunday for allegedly stealing oysters and attempting to sell them through social media, according to a news release.
Jerome Robin, 33, Daryl Robin, 32 and Richard Robin, 35, all of St. Bernard, were arrested for simple theft.
Jerome Robin also was cited for possession of untagged oysters, violations of the state’s health code for refrigeration and falsifying the log sheet on a vessel. Richard Robin also was cited for selling seafood without a wholesale/retail dealer’s license, the release states.
A private oyster leaseholder contacted agents about three men he hired to fish his lease who were seen offloading nine sacks of oysters without his permission, the release states.
When the men were stopped by agents, they admitted to taking the oysters without the leaseholder’s permission. They told agents they had taken orders on a social media group website in St. Bernard Parish, the release states.
Agents seized and destroyed the oysters due to lack of refrigeration, and the men were booked into the St. Bernard Parish Jail, according to the release.
Simple theft carries up to a $1,000 fine and six months of jail. Possession of untagged oysters, a Department of Health and Hospitals refrigeration violation and operation of a vessel under suspension carries a max penalty of $750 for each offense and 120 days in jail. Violations of the state’s sanitation code for the log book violation carries a $25 fine, the release states.
