DEL.ICIO.USUpdated: 6:53 p.m. September 03, 2008
LAWRENCEVILLE
Turtle collector sues to get confiscated reptiles back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
A turtle collector from Lawrenceville has sued the state of Georgia, hoping to force state wildlife officials to return hundreds of turtles seized in connection with criminal charges for which he was acquitted.
An attorney for Steve Santhuff said Wednesday that he expects the case to go before a Gwinnett County Superior Court judge within the next two months.
AJC file photo
About 500 map turtles were seized from Steve Santhuff’s home in 2005.
AJC file photo
Santhuff shows one of his remaining turtles in the backyard of his home in Lawrenceville.
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State and federal wildlife enforcement officers seized about 500 rare and endangered map turtles belonging to Santhuff after a joint investigation in 2005. A Gwinnett County jury found Santhuff not guilty of criminal charges related to his possession of the turtles in February, but the state has not returned his beloved reptiles.
Russ Willard, a spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office, said Wednesday that the state does not plan to return the turtles.
“The Wildlife Resources Division contends that Mr. Santhuff does not have authority to possess these animals,” Willard said.
Santhuff also has lawsuits pending in federal court against the agents who seized his prized collection: Gary Phillips, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Michael Bloxon, a wildlife enforcement officer in Alabama; and Steve Seitz, a Georgia wildlife enforcement officer.
About 200 of the turtles have died in the state’s custody since they were taken from Santhuff’s home in Lawrenceville, a friend of Santhuff’s said. Most of the remainder of Santhuff’s menagerie is being kept at the Savannah River Ecology Lab near Aiken, S.C., and a few are being housed at Zoo Atlanta.
Each turtle is worth between $100 and $1,000, said Robert D’Agostino, a law professor and former dean at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta. D’Agostino, a longtime friend of Santhuff who is a fellow turtle aficionado, is acting as a consultant for the defense.
“Some of those turtles are irreplaceable,” D’Agostino said. “He had gotten them before they became protected; some as gifts and some he raised as hatchlings.”
D’Agostino said about 350 of the 500 confiscated turtles were not protected species anywhere in the United States.
The government also has not returned many of Santhuff’s personal papers collected as part of its criminal investigation, including vacation pictures, scientific notes and logs, D’Agostino said.
Santuff’s lawyers say they plan to file a separate lawsuit in coming weeks seeking $1 million from the state to compensate for the seized property.
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