Judges may set bonds over $1 million for serious crimes such as murder, high-profile cases, or for defendants who present a serious flight risk. Jorge Vargas simply got caught with some undersize lobster tails, so why did a judge set his bail at a hefty $1.4 million?
Well, Vargas was nabbed with a whole lot of lobster tails, and this wasn't the first time.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Department, the 59-year-old Miami resident was spotted over the weekend pulling up traps and collecting lobsters. At Fiesta Key Marina, authorities discovered Vargas was in possession of 267 wrung lobster tails, and 246 of them were undersize, meaning only 21 were legal.
He was arrested on charges of possession of undersize lobsters, possession of over-the-limit lobsters, and possession of wrung lobster tails.
This is not the first time Vargas has been caught with hundreds of illegal lobster tails.
In 2011, Monroe County deputies spotted Vargas stealing lobsters from other fishermen's traps at 2:30 in the morning near Long Key. He was in possession of 332 wrung lobsters, 274 of which were undersize. And he didn't have a commercial or recreational fishing license.
Vargas had also been cited in the past three years for possession of stone crabs out of season. The Miami Herald also reported that while Vargas was in jail this weekend, a warrant was issued for his arrest for failing to show up for a court case stemming from the 2011 incident.
Basically, the man has a long history of having no respect for shellfish laws.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.