Loot Found Buried In Yard Of Rare Tortoise Thief: St. Pete Police

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — More stolen items have been found buried at the home of a St. Petersburg man charged with stealing two endangered Galapagos tortoises and rare books and comic books earlier this year.

Joshua McCarty-Thomas, who police say stole the tortoises from St. Augustine Alligator Farm and the rare books from Haslam’s and Lighthouse Books, was arrested and charged in May. One of the animals was found alive in his yard, while the other’s carcass was found in his freezer.

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Since then, detectives have continued to investigate McCarty-Thomas, St. Petersburg Police wrote in a Facebook post.

This past week, detectives found loot buried in his backyard and also found a storage unit in his name filled with stolen collectors’ items, including rare books, signed instruments and jewelry, all worth thousands of dollars, police said.

Investigators are working to return them to their rightful owners.