Seafood Supplier Sentenced for Cruelty to Turtles : Law: West Hills man pleads no contest to possession of the snapping variety, prohibited in California.

After an unprecedented prosecution by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, a seafood company operator found with thousands of dead and dying turtles was sentenced Tuesday to two months in jail.

Mark Rommel Osterholt, 28, of West Hills, who operates Osterholt and Sons Seafood Co. of Westminster, pleaded no contest to charges of cruelty to animals and possession of a prohibited species--snapping turtles--after police found 1,112 turtles, more than half of which were dead or died shortly afterward, in burlap bags in a van parked in front of his home. Over a thousand more were found at a Westminster warehouse.

“This is the first prosecution of this kind, regarding reptiles and the unregulated industry of transporting them,” said Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek.

“What concerns me is that Mr. Osterholt is the guy at the end of the line in this whole thing,” Cocek said. “There are other people out there as guilty as he is.”

California law prohibits the possession of snapping turtles--aggressive, carnivorous reptiles native to the southeastern United States--because they could spread in the wild and attack native species, the city attorney’s office said.

Wildlife authorities estimate that over 20 million turtles are trapped every year in the country and sold to seafood restaurants to be served as delicacies.

Other turtles found in the van were red-eared turtles, sliders, diamond-backed terrapins, coolers and eastern painted turtles, which are also native to the southeastern United States. Most of the turtles in the van died from dehydration, crushed shells or open wounds, and were infested with maggots.

Hundreds of dead or dying turtles were also found in a Westminster seafood warehouse by police. Investigators found five plastic containers full of 1,367 turtles, many of which had drowned in water at the bottom of the containers, been crushed under the weight of other turtles or died of starvation and dehydration.

The turtles were first discovered last May when neighbors of Osterholt’s condominium complex in the 21900 block of Marylee Street in West Hills noticed a foul smell coming from a parked van that had not been moved for three days. Workers in the area found the turtles in the van and reported it to police.

Investigators said Osterholt imported his turtles from a business associate in Arkansas and sold them to restaurants and seafood outlets in California.

The turtles were worth about $8,000, according to Osterholt.

Osterholt was ordered to surrender May 9 in Van Nuys Municipal Court to begin his sentence. He was also ordered to work on a Caltrans crew for 30 days and was given three years probation.

A hearing is scheduled for May 9 to determine if Osterholt will have to reimburse the court $27,000 for veterinary care given to the surviving turtles.