5 years after the true crime documentary “Tiger King” captivated a rustic shut down by COVID-19, the ultimate authorized troubles for considered one of its primary characters shall be resolved Tuesday in a courtroom in South Carolina.
Bhagavan “Doc” Antle faces as much as 10 years in jail for trafficking in unique animals and cash laundering after pleading responsible in November 2023.
Precisely what punishment prosecutors are asking for and any arguments for leniency from Antle’s attorneys have been saved from the general public earlier than Tuesday morning’s listening to in federal courtroom in Charleston.
Three others who pleaded responsible in his investigation obtained both probation or a four-month jail sentence.
Antle’s sentence is the ultimate true-life chapter of the Tiger King saga. The Netflix collection debuted in March 2020 close to the height of COVID-19 restrictions.
The present centered on sellers and conservationists of massive cats, specializing in disputes between Joe Unique, a collector and personal zookeeper from Oklahoma, and Carole Baskin, who runs Large Cat Rescue in Florida.
Unique, whose actual title is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is serving a 21-year federal jail sentence for making an attempt to rent two totally different males to kill Baskin.
Antle, who owns a personal zoo referred to as Myrtle Seaside Safari, appeared within the first season of the documentary and was the star of the third season.
Antle’s zoo was identified for charging a whole lot or 1000’s of {dollars} to let individuals pet and maintain child animals like lions, tigers and monkeys that have been so younger they have been nonetheless being bottle-fed. Prospects may have images or movies made. Antle would generally trip into excursions on an elephant.
Myrtle Seaside Safari stays open by reservation solely, in response to its web site. Antle has remained out on bail since his arrest in June 2022.
Antle’s federal expenses have been introduced after the Tiger King collection.
Prosecutors stated he offered or purchased cheetahs, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee with out the right paperwork. And so they stated in a separate scheme, Antle laundered greater than $500,000 that an informant advised him was getting used to get individuals into the U.S. illegally to work.
Antle was used to having giant quantities of cash he may transfer round rapidly, investigators stated.
The FBI was listening to Antle’s cellphone calls with the informant as he defined a child chimpanzee may simply price $200,000. Personal zookeepers can cost a whole lot of {dollars} for images with docile younger primates or different animals, however the revenue window is just open for just a few years earlier than the rising animals can now not be safely dealt with.
“I needed to get a monkey, however the individuals gained’t take a examine. They solely take money. So what do you do?” Antle stated in response to a transcript of the cellphone name in courtroom papers.
Two of Antle’s workers have already been sentenced for his or her roles in his schemes.
Meredith Bybee was given a 12 months of probation for promoting a chimpanzee whereas Andrew “Omar” Sawyer, who prosecutors stated helped Antle launder cash, was given two years of probation.
Jason Clay, a Texas non-public zoo proprietor, pleaded responsible to illegally promoting a primate and was sentenced to 4 months in jail, whereas expenses have been dropped in opposition to California ranch proprietor Charles Sammut.
Antle was additionally convicted in 2023 in a Virginia courtroom of 4 counts of wildlife trafficking over gross sales of lions and was sentenced to 2 years of jail suspended “upon 5 years of excellent conduct.” An appeals courtroom overturned two of the convictions, ruling that Virginia legislation bans the sale of endangered species however not their buy.
Antle was discovered not responsible of 5 counts of animal cruelty at that very same Virginia trial.
