MIAMI — Two Miami men were arrested early Sunday morning after deputies in the Florida Keys found an endangered Key deer in their car during a traffic stop, according to authorities.
Yoankis Hernandez Pena, 38, and Andres Leon Valdes, 45, face charges of animal cruelty and taking, possessing or selling a federally designated endangered or threatened species, county jail records show. They were in custody as of Sunday afternoon awaiting their bond hearing, Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, told the Miami Herald.
At 1:56 a.m., deputies stopped a blue Chevrolet hatchback-style car on U.S. 1 near mile marker 56 in Marathon that was “failing to stay in its lane,” the agency said in a news release. When the deputies walked over to the car, they say an injured Key deer was spotted on top of a cooler and some lawn chairs in the vehicle.
After Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers responded to investigate further, the men were put in handcuffs, the sheriff’s office said.
“Thanks to the great work by our deputies and the quick actions of FWC, the Key deer is alive, and hopefully it will recover and be released,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay.
In 2017, two men were arrested for taking three Key deer and faced felony charges. Both of them pleaded guilty and finished serving probation last year, according to court records.
Commonly found in Key Deer Country from Big Pine Key West to Lower Sugarloaf Key, the endangered Key deer are unique to the lower Florida Keys because they can’t be found anywhere else in the world, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
They are perfectly adapted to living in the wild but may approach people and vehicles looking for food, the agency says. Residents and visitors are asked to not feed them and to drive carefully.
———
