The State - News from March 6, 1988

Robert Garcia, 29, accused of killing a sea otter, was sentenced to six months in jail by a judge who was told by prosecutors that the defendant did not think the offense was serious. Garcia pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor lesser charge of possession of the animal. Garcia had been charged with killing the otter at Moss Landing and dumping the carcass in a Salinas gutter after trying to skin it. Municipal Judge Alan Hedegard ordered a maximum jail term and a $1,000 fine. Garcia denied actually killing the otter, a protected creature.