A California couple unknowingly turned themselves in after boasting about their illegal hunting trophies mid-flight, unaware that two plainclothes wildlife officers were seated nearby.
During a November 2023 flight, Byron Lee Fitzpatrick, 24, and Shannon Lee Price, 28, casually discussed their collection of protected wildlife remains, including a green sea turtle skull concealed in their luggage. They also detailed their illegal take of a mountain lion and showed footage of a relative’s trophy room packed with restricted mounts.
Seated within earshot, two undercover officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife listened as the couple unknowingly admitted to violating multiple state and federal laws. The officers identified themselves, but Fitzpatrick and Price, seemingly unbothered, continued describing their hunting activities.
Upon arrival, the officers requested to see the sea turtle skull. After ensuring TSA agents weren’t nearby, the couple retrieved the item, which was enough for authorities to secure search warrants for their residence in Chico, California, and the home of 64-year-old Harry Vern Fitzpatrick in Napa County.
When officials searched the couple’s home, they found them actively processing an illegally taken deer. Investigators seized additional illegal animal remains, including a barn owl, mountain lion claws and a ringtail cat. At the senior Fitzpatrick’s home, authorities confiscated multiple mounted animals, including two mountain lions and a wolverine.
In April 2024, Fitzpatrick and Price were each fined $1,000 in federal court. Later, Fitzpatrick was ordered to pay $1,865 in fines and was banned from hunting for a year. Price was fined $1,015 and received the same restriction. The elder Fitzpatrick was fined $605 and placed on six months of hunting probation.
Officials noted that illegal poaching operations often fuel organized crime and international wildlife trafficking.
