Suzy Lopez adds more resources to catch saw palmetto berry thieves

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez is adding more resources to nab thieves who are illegally harvesting saw palmetto berries.

This comes after two people were recently arrested after deputies said they illegally harvested 801 pounds of saw palmetto berries from a farm in Ruskin.

A property owner along US 41 called the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to report trespassers harvesting the berries on their property, according to deputies.

The sheriff’s office tracked Heladio Gonzalez-Hernandez, 39, and Maria Hernandez-Santiago, 42, to a home in Plant City after receiving a photo of their vehicle.

Gonzalez-Hernandez and Hernandez-Santiago were both charged with possession or exchange of unlawfully harvested saw palmetto berries and unlawful destruction or harvest of saw palmetto berries.

“I don’t think it’ll be the last,” said Col. Anthony Collins with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. “I can assure you, as they come up, we will deal with them as swiftly as possible.”

On July 1, the Farm Bill went into effect which strengthens the penalties for illegally harvesting saw palmetto berries.

Violators will now be charged with a third-degree felony and could face up to five years in prison.

“It used to be a misdemeanor with a fine,” Lopez said. “The reason that these are such a hot commodity is because they can be sold anywhere from 50 cents to $3.50 per pound. That’s a lot of money. That’s going to affect the farmer and it’s going to affect our entire economy. You’re going to be held accountable.”

The State Attorney’s Office has also designated an intake attorney to handle cases involving agriculture crimes.

“It puts a target on your back,” said Joe Sumner, owner of Sumner Cattle Company. “They know you, but you don’t know them, so it puts a big target on your back.”

Sumner Cattle Company is a family-owned farm in Wimauma.

Sumner noticed a sharp spike in saw palmetto berry thefts over the last five years.

“There’s was one time where we counted 7,000 pounds that were just left on the ground,” Sumner said. “It was just left to rot.”

A permit is required to harvest and sell the berries after the Endangered Plant Advisory Council recommended the saw palmetto plant be added to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ “commercially exploited plant list.”

The berries are often used for medicinal purposes, and the berries are also an important food source for wildlife, according to the University of Florida Southwest Florida Research & Education Center .

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