Man Who Tried to Sell Lions Caught With Pair of Tiger Cubs

A man who was cited earlier this year for illegal possession of African lion cubs was arrested Tuesday night, allegedly trying to sell tiger cubs for $10,000 apiece from his car at Fashion Island, police said.

Eric Martin Jarvies, 23, who told police he now lives in Pahrump, Nev., was arrested on a warrant stemming from a February incident at Fashion Island in which a monkey in his possession bit a woman, said Newport Beach Police Lt. Jim Carson.

Jarvies had two 15-pound tiger cubs in his BMW convertible at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, Carson said.

He was booked on suspicion of possessing wild animals without a permit, a violation of state law.

Jarvies was being held in Newport Beach Jail with bail set at $11,050.

The cubs will be taken to the city’s animal shelter, police said.

In May, the state Department of Fish and Game seized seven de-clawed African lion cubs, aged 4 to 15 months, from a downtown San Clemente store owned by Jarvies and Bruce Miller, 26, of Balboa. The pair were cited for possessing, transporting and attempting to sell the cubs without city, state and federal permits.

Authorities were tipped off to the lions’ whereabouts by an ad in a local newspaper offering them for sale for $5,000 apiece.

The lions were eventually shipped to a Kansas farm.