A Florida-based dealer pleaded guilty Wednesday to wildlife trafficking charges related to the sale of a capuchin monkey to singer Chris Brown in 2017.Jimmy Wayne Hammonds, 57, of Parrish, who went by the nickname 'the Monkey Whisperer', pleaded guilty to illegally transporting and selling primates, including a species considered endangered.He pleaded guilty during a hearing in Tampa federal court to violating the Endangered Species Act and Lacy Act, according to court records.
Pet owner:A Florida-based dealer pleaded guilty Wednesday to wildlife trafficking charges related to the sale of a capuchin monkey in 2017 to singer Chris Brown, shown in January 2020 in Los AngelesHammonds faces up to eight years in prison.
A sentencing date wasn't immediately set.Prosecutors said Hammonds owned and operated a wildlife breeding and sales business called The Monkey Whisperer, LLC, through which he tried to sell a capuchin monkey for $12,650 to a buyer in California, even though the buyer could not legally own the animal.
Court records said the monkey was transported by Hammonds to Nevada to make it appear as if a local resident had purchased the animal, but the person listed in the indictment was California resident Brown'Exotic animals are not playthings, fashion accessories, or Instagram props for celebrities, and they're not a business venture, either,' said PETA Foundation associate director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement, Michelle Sinnott, in a statement.
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