Authorities take action against theft of saw palmetto fruits
Hillsborough County is working to stop the theft of saw palmetto berries, a crime that is now a felony under Florida law.
WIMAUMA, Florida. – Hillsborough County District Attorney Suzy Lopez vowed Wednesday that her office will prosecute saw palmetto berry thieves under a new state law designed to combat the increasingly popular crime.
In July, Florida made it a third-degree felony to harvest or steal saw palmetto berries without a permit. Last month, Hillsborough County officials announced their first arrests under the new law: Heladio Gonzalez-Hernandez, 39, and Maria Hernandez-Santiago, 42, of Plant City, who are accused of stealing about 800 pounds of saw palmetto berries.
“They’re worth a lot of money. Because when people sell them, they can be tampered with,” Lopez said during a news conference at the Sumner Cattle Company in Wimauma. “Whether you commit a crime with a strawberry or a sawberry or anything in between, you will be held accountable in Hillsborough County.”
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Investigators said the berries can sell for as much as $3.50 a pound. They added that the thieves sometimes sold them to street buyers, but generally the berries make their way to Immokalee and are then shipped to China for processing.
In a previous interview, Ken Gioeli, a natural resources officer with the University of Florida’s IFAS Extension, said, “They are used in the medical field, you can buy them as a dietary supplement, and they help treat a number of different conditions. That includes prostate enlargement and prostate problems, so they can help people with medical problems.”
Arrests were also made in Polk and Manatee counties due to the new law.
These crimes can endanger livestock and the ecosystem while damaging property. Farmers are angry.
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“There are so many different factors with different animals that depend on these palmetto berries, and if (the trees) can’t reproduce, then that impacts our ecosystem,” said Joe Sumner, owner of Sumner Cattle Company. “It’s very, very frustrating for us because it makes our jobs so much harder because we’re good stewards of the land.”
Since this crime is now classified as a capital offense, thieves face up to five years in prison.
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