A Port Sulphur Man pleaded guilty to commercial oyster violations and flight from an officer in the 25th Judicial District Court of Plaquemines Parish on Sept. 19.
Judge Keven Conner accepted the guilty pleas from James Phillips, 67, and sentenced him to pay fines totaling $1,500 plus courts costs and 90 days in parish prison suspended for flight from an officer, taking oysters from unleased state water bottoms and taking oysters from a polluted area.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents witnessed Phillips dredging for oysters from a vessel in a polluted area in Gran Bayou on April 4, 2019. Agents attempted to stop the vessel, but Phillips quickly removed the dredges from the water and led agents on a vessel pursuit throughout the marshes of Port Sulphur.
Agents observed Phillips and his crew intentionally dump oysters into the water during their pursuit. Agents chased the vessel into Sicola Canal #2 where Phillips and the other three occupants abandoned the vessel and ran down the levee.
The agent found white oyster tags with Phillips’ harvester ID on the vessel indicating the oysters were going to hit the market intended for raw consumption. The GPS coordinates of where these oysters were harvested were inside the polluted area that was closed by the Department of Health and Hospitals.
LDWF agents obtained an arrest warrant on April 15 and set up an arrangement for Phillips to turn himself into authorities. Phillips was subsequently booked into the Plaquemines Parish Jail.
Judge Conner also placed Phillips on six months inactive probation and ordered him to forfeit his oyster harvester license, oyster dredge license, oyster seed ground permit, and recreational oyster tong license for a period of four years. Phillips is also forbidden from being on board any vessel that’s harvesting, possessing, possessing gear to take, or processing oysters for a period of four years.
Assistant District Attorney Jerry Lobrano prosecuted the case for the state.