A man and woman from Texas were sentenced to a year in prison in Miami for selling several endangered jaguar skins, according to federal authorities.
Elias Garcia Garcia, 53, and Maria Angela Plancarte, 53, both of La Feria, Texas, were sentenced Monday to a year and a day behind bars followed by two years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida said Tuesday.
Authorities say Garcia and Plancarte had offered several jaguar skins for sale in South Florida in 2008. Two years later, the pair sold two jaguar pelts to undercover Fish and Wildlife Service agents for $3,000 in cash and offered another 10 skins for sale.
Garcia and Plancarte also admitted to a second sale of the jaguar skins to agents in Homestead, authorities said. The second sale was for $4,000 for the skins and future sale of pelts that would be smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.
Jaguars are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, which makes it illegal to sell or offer them for sale.
Garcia and Plancarte also face deportation when they complete their prison terms.
