PEORIA — Probation and a year in federal prison were sentences handed down Friday against two men convicted earlier this year of selling undersized baby turtles at an East Peoria reptile show three years ago.

Jason Johnson, 32, of Peoria was ordered to spend two years on probation with the first nine months in home confinement. Keith Cantore, 28, was sentenced to a year in prison, which is to run concurrently with a 40-month sentence handed down in 2005 in the Northern District of Illinois for a weapons offense.

Both were convicted in August of selling or offering to sell undersized turtles at an event during the summer of 2005. However, Cantore's charge was a felony as prosecutors linked him to more than 300 turtles, while Johnson's charge is a misdemeanor.

The charges arose out of an investigation launched by state and federal officials into four shows at the East Peoria Convention Center. Prosecutors showed video and used testimony from undercover officers who said they saw dozens of undersized turtles offered for sale.

For years, little turtles were commonly sold as pets. But they tended to carry salmonella, a dangerous bacteria, and young children would get sick after they put the turtles into their mouths. So in the early 1970s, the federal government banned the sale of turtles less than 4 inches in size.

[ Hide Replies ]

• IL two sentenced in baby turtle case - darthjadden, Tue Dec 9 16:21:47 2008