ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Police in St. Petersburg have arrested a man accused of stealing rare reptiles.
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Investigators said Joshua McCarty-Thomas stole two endangered Galapagos tortoises from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park last November.
Police said they found one alive at his St. Petersburg home, and another in a freezer.
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They are valued at $10,000 each.
“These little creatures are extremely rare, and to just keep one in the front yard like that of your home is just, unbelievable,” said Yolanda Fernandez, a public information officer with the St. Petersburg Police Department.
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Officials said there is also a warrant out for the same man in connection to the burglary of a shop in Ocala.
Thousands of dollars’ worth of valuable comics were stolen from that store.
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