Louisiana Thief Accused of Using Victim’s Equipment to Steal Hundreds of Pounds of Crawfish

A Louisiana man has been accused of entering the property of a crawfish farmer and stealing the crawfish out of his traps, not once but twice.

We've repeatedly reported on farmers having their ponds ripped off during this crawfish season.

READ MORE: LOUISIANA OFFICIALS BUST A CRAWFISH THIEF STEALING IN A FIELD

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The Crawfish Heist

According to the Crawdaq Index App, a pound of crawfish costs between $3.99 and $4.99 per pound.

In addition to the actual product, how will this farmer get his time, resources, and money back from a thief?

To add insult to injury, crawfish season is almost over, so there is no time to recoup the losses.

Stolen Crawfish

According to the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office, the farmer who complained estimates that the thief took between 400 and 500 pounds.

The range of money involved here is between $1,596 and $2,495, so for a farmer just trying to make a living, that is a lot of money gone in just a few days.

Bold Crawfish Theft

The man whom the thief victimized says that late in April, someone went onto his property and emptied his traps. Just a few days later, the same thing happened.

The victim went to make a formal complaint, and Rapides Parish Sheriff's Chief of Staff Tommy Carnline told the Louisiana Radio Network that they decided to set up a sting.

They dubbed the sting "Operation Tail Chaser." The sting operation took place on Saturday, May 10.

Caught Red-Clawed

According to the Sheriff, 47-year-old Tony Hicks of Echo was caught red-handed.

Hicks is now facing multiple charges, including theft and criminal trespass. The sheriff says Hicks was caught with a boatload of crawfish.

Sheriff Carnline says that in addition to Hicks's arrest, other people may be arrested in connection with this case.

The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office worked with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to nab the suspect.

Hicks was stopped on a traffic violation on Sunday, May 11.

The man is even accused of using the farmer's equipment to steal the crawfish.

These are all of the charges that Hicks is facing:

• Running a Stop Sign
• Driving Under Suspension
• Contempt of Court
• Criminal Trespass
• Two Counts of Felon in Possession of a Firearm
• Four Counts of Theft
• Four Counts of Criminal Trespassing
• Three Counts of Unauthorized Use of a Moveable

The man's bond was set at $61,700.

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