Caught trafficking animals again, Parrish ‘Monkey Whisperer’ gets prison time
A Parrish man is going to prison for illegally selling exotic animals while on probation for the same crime, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
62-year-old Jimmy Wayne Hammonds, also known as “The Monkey Whisperer,” was found to have illegally acquired and sold several breeds of exotic animals through his business, The Monkey Whisperer LLC, according to a news release.
Hammonds ran this business “despite being a convicted Lacey Act trafficker and on federal probation,” the release said.
Hammonds pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and Lacey Act Trafficking, during which time he was on probation for a separate case involving the same crime, according to the release.
The Lacey Act prohibits acquiring, transporting, selling or purchasing certain plants and animals under U.S. law.
Parrish man caught selling monkeys again, prosecutors say
Hammonds was sentenced to five years’ probation in 2022 for arranging the sale of a capuchin monkey to a Californian who was not legally permitted to possess the animal. In that case, prosecutors said he also conspired to hire someone to illegally transport the animal from Florida to California, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Hammonds also illegally sold cotton-top tamarins to people in South Carolina, Alabama and Wisconsin, in addition to allegedly selling wildlife to celebrities such as Chris Brown.
In his most recent case, Hammonds connected with an undercover agent through his business’s social media account.
“Hammonds agreed to sell the undercover agent two common marmosets for $7,400,” the news release said. “Hammonds arranged for the transaction to occur in Georgia to avoid law enforcement oversight.”
A judge sentenced Hammonds to nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay $60,000 to benefit the Lacey Act Reward Fund, and is banned from “possessing, breeding, selling, transporting, or exhibiting any wildlife,” according to the news release.
Prosecutors say 68 animals were surrendered by Hammonds as a result of the case. They included “numerous primate species, muntjac deer, lemurs, kangaroos, wallabies, and otters,” the news release said.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission , the release said.
Hammonds’s next hearing will occur on April 2, according to the release.
