Federal charges in deer case
Two men found with three Key deer tied up in their car face charges under the federal Endangered Species Act. One deer had to be euthanized because of injuries it suffered in the incident.
Two South Florida men accused of tying up three endangered Key deer and driving them around in a car last month are now facing federal charges.
Tumani Anthony Younge, 23, of Tamarac, and Erik Damas Acosta, 18, of Miami Gardens, were arrested July 2 on Little Torch Key after a Monroe County Sheriff ’s deputy pulled over their Hyundai Sonata because it had a broken tail-light, authorities said.
The deputy saw two deer in the back seat and found a third one in the trunk.
Investigators said the men captured two adult deer, a male and female, and a juvenile male deer.
One of the male deer had to be euthanized a few days later because of injuries it suffered during the incident.
On Wednesday, prosecutors filed criminal charges against both men under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Younge and Damas Acosta are both facing three counts of “harassing, harming, capturing and collecting” the three deer. The charges each carry a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison
The men, who were stopped around 1 a.m. on Little Torch Key in the lower Keys, told investigators they were on a camping trip and wanted to take photogaphs with the animals, deputies said at the time.
The deer were wounded, struggling and bleeding in the car, according to an arrest report.
Key deer are a unique subspecies of white-tailed deer and grow to about 3 feet tall at the shoulder.
They only live in a small section of the Keys and are protected by state and federal laws. It is illegal to feed them. Damas Acosta told investigators the men stopped on Big Pine Key and grabbed the deer while feeding them.
Damas Acosta and Younge were already facing related state charges and have pleaded not guilty to those allegations. They are free on bond. They will be required to appear in federal court in Key West in the next week or so.