An infamous animal dealer from Texas generally known as “Mimi Erotic” has turned herself in to authorities in California to face federal charges for allegedly transporting and selling an endangered jaguar cub.
Trisha Denise Meyer, 40, of Houston, surrendered Tuesday after almost five weeks on the lam and appeared before a judge in US District Court in Riverside, The Independent reported.
Meyer pleaded not guilty and was released on $15,000 bond – but before she left the courtroom, she was arrested again by US Marshals on a bench warrant out of Texas, based on the outlet.
Last month, she was charged in reference to an alleged plot to take the cub, named Amador, from Texas to California and sell it to a neighborhood man for $30,000, The Independent said.
Buyer Abdul Rahman initially took custody of the jaguar cub but modified his mind and sold the animal.
“Rahman didn’t know the way to maintain the jaguar and … quickly became dissatisfied and desired to eliminate the jaguar by selling it to another person but was concerned that he would lose money within the transaction,” based on affidavits cited by the outlet.
The cub was later found at a wildlife sanctuary called Lions, Tigers and Bears, The Independent said.
Investigators found images of the cub on social media and traced its origin to Meyer, who was charged with interstate transportation of an endangered species in the midst of business activity, interstate sale of an endangered species, trafficking prohibited wildlife species and trafficking endangered species.
Rahman also was charged within the case, the outlet said.
The raps stem from alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act, which protect jaguars and prohibit wildlife trafficking, respectively.
Meyer, who was charged Oct. 5, had disappeared until Tuesday, when she surrendered to the feds.
The infamous animal dealer also made headlines in 2016 when police discovered a big male tiger and three tiger cubs, together with monkeys, a skunk, a fox and a cougar, in her Cypress, Texas, home while her then-teen daughter was there.
Houston police were called to the house after Meyer sold an exotic Savannah kitten to a California man for $3,000 but never gave him the animal, officials said on the time.
She had permits for the tigers but not for the skunks and foxes.
Along with the big male tiger, she admitted to police that the cubs were reaching the age where they may very well be dangerous – and in addition said her pet monkeys were “vicious” and that one in all them attacks people.
On the time, Meyer fled to Las Vegas and later to Pahrump in Nye County, Nevada, where she was eventually situated and her tigers confiscated, Chron.com reported.
She was initially charged with child endangerment, however the count was dropped, and in 2017 pleaded guilty to a theft charge and received two years of deferred adjudication, KSAT reported.
“It’s been a nightmare for my kids and I because I’ve been portrayed within the media as having had a mountain lion in the home, tigers in the home, foxes, skunks all loose together, which has never happened,” Meyer told reporters.
“It’s just been a nightmare attempting to prove my innocence,” she added.
But Meyer later became embroiled in further related accusations.
In 2017, social media user Randall Spring said Meyer sold him a monkey for $6,500 – but it surely died two hours into the drive home and she or he advised him to throw the animal’s body in a dumpster, The Independent reported.
One other person posted on complaintsboard.com that he bought a wolf from Meyer in June 2020, writing: “4 days later, the pup died. It took me hiring a personal investigator to get to this page.”
Last yr, Meyer diversified to other sources of income, based on the news outlet, which reported that she announced on Instagram and Twitter that she launched an OnlyFans account.
Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Independent for comment.
An infamous animal dealer from Texas generally known as “Mimi Erotic” has turned herself in to authorities in California to face federal charges for allegedly transporting and selling an endangered jaguar cub.
Trisha Denise Meyer, 40, of Houston, surrendered Tuesday after almost five weeks on the lam and appeared before a judge in US District Court in Riverside, The Independent reported.
Meyer pleaded not guilty and was released on $15,000 bond – but before she left the courtroom, she was arrested again by US Marshals on a bench warrant out of Texas, based on the outlet.
Last month, she was charged in reference to an alleged plot to take the cub, named Amador, from Texas to California and sell it to a neighborhood man for $30,000, The Independent said.
Buyer Abdul Rahman initially took custody of the jaguar cub but modified his mind and sold the animal.
“Rahman didn’t know the way to maintain the jaguar and … quickly became dissatisfied and desired to eliminate the jaguar by selling it to another person but was concerned that he would lose money within the transaction,” based on affidavits cited by the outlet.
The cub was later found at a wildlife sanctuary called Lions, Tigers and Bears, The Independent said.
Investigators found images of the cub on social media and traced its origin to Meyer, who was charged with interstate transportation of an endangered species in the midst of business activity, interstate sale of an endangered species, trafficking prohibited wildlife species and trafficking endangered species.
Rahman also was charged within the case, the outlet said.
The raps stem from alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act, which protect jaguars and prohibit wildlife trafficking, respectively.
Meyer, who was charged Oct. 5, had disappeared until Tuesday, when she surrendered to the feds.
The infamous animal dealer also made headlines in 2016 when police discovered a big male tiger and three tiger cubs, together with monkeys, a skunk, a fox and a cougar, in her Cypress, Texas, home while her then-teen daughter was there.
Houston police were called to the house after Meyer sold an exotic Savannah kitten to a California man for $3,000 but never gave him the animal, officials said on the time.
She had permits for the tigers but not for the skunks and foxes.
Along with the big male tiger, she admitted to police that the cubs were reaching the age where they may very well be dangerous – and in addition said her pet monkeys were “vicious” and that one in all them attacks people.
On the time, Meyer fled to Las Vegas and later to Pahrump in Nye County, Nevada, where she was eventually situated and her tigers confiscated, Chron.com reported.
She was initially charged with child endangerment, however the count was dropped, and in 2017 pleaded guilty to a theft charge and received two years of deferred adjudication, KSAT reported.
“It’s been a nightmare for my kids and I because I’ve been portrayed within the media as having had a mountain lion in the home, tigers in the home, foxes, skunks all loose together, which has never happened,” Meyer told reporters.
“It’s just been a nightmare attempting to prove my innocence,” she added.
But Meyer later became embroiled in further related accusations.
In 2017, social media user Randall Spring said Meyer sold him a monkey for $6,500 – but it surely died two hours into the drive home and she or he advised him to throw the animal’s body in a dumpster, The Independent reported.
One other person posted on complaintsboard.com that he bought a wolf from Meyer in June 2020, writing: “4 days later, the pup died. It took me hiring a personal investigator to get to this page.”
Last yr, Meyer diversified to other sources of income, based on the news outlet, which reported that she announced on Instagram and Twitter that she launched an OnlyFans account.
Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Independent for comment.
