A casual conversation on a flight led to the unraveling of a sprawling case of hunted protected and endangered animals, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday.

The case, which resulted in guilty pleas, fines and probation for three California residents, began in November 2023 when two plainclothes CDFW officers, returning from a training in San Diego on a flight to Northern California, overheard a couple, Byron Lee Fitzpatrick, 24, and Shannon Lee Price, 28, discussing hunting. The officers, who were seated near the couple, struck up a conversation with them, only for things to take a revealing turn.

According to the CDFW, the unsuspecting passengers disclosed they were transporting a sea turtle skull from the East Coast and admitted they had also unlawfully taken a mountain lion — a specially protected species in California that cannot be hunted or possessed even if it dies from natural causes. They also mentioned a relative in Napa County with taxidermic mountain lions, a wolverine and wolves, even showing a video of the “trophy room.”

The officers asked to see the sea turtle skull after the flight landed, the CDFW said. The couple, aware of the legal implications, revealed it only once Transportation Security Administration personnel were out of sight. The skull belonged to a green sea turtle, a federally endangered species illegal to possess and transport in the United States.

The CDFW said warrants for the couple’s Chico home and the Napa County residence of their relative uncovered further violations. At the Chico home, officers found the couple illegally possessing mountain lion claws, a taxidermic barn owl and several deer that had been unlawfully taken. At the Napa County home, officers seized two taxidermic mountain lions and a wolverine, both fully protected species. 

“This is an excellent example of collaboration with our federal partners to ensure accountability for individuals involved in illegal wildlife trafficking and to make sure they’re being held accountable on all levels,” CDFW Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement Andrew Halverson told SFGATE.

The investigation, conducted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, led to formal charges against Fitzpatrick, Price and the relative, 64-year-old Harry Vern Fitzpatrick. In plea agreements, Byron was fined $1,865, while Price was fined $1,015. Both pleaded guilty to violating sections of the California Fish and Game Code and were placed on one year of probation prohibiting hunting and fined an additional $1,000 for violating federal wildlife laws. 

Harry pleaded guilty to two charges of violating a section of the state Fish and Game Code; he was fined $605 and given six months of probation. All unlawfully possessed wildlife possessed by the three was forfeited. 

Anyone with information about poaching or wildlife crimes is urged to report violations via the toll-free CALTIP hotline at 888-334-CALTIP.