Suspect arrested for stealing 2 endangered tortoises from Florida zoo; 1 found dead in freezer: Police

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg man was arrested for stealing two endangered Galapagos Tortoises from a St. Augustine zoo last November, police said. 

Detectives with the St. Pete Police Department served a search warrant at Joshua McCarty-Thomas' home on 10th Street South. 

Booking photo for Joshua McCarty-Thomas. Courtesy: Pinellas County Jail.

St. Pete police said they've been able to find one of the rare tortoises alive in the suspect's yard, but the other was found dead in a freezer. 

WATCH: Driver stops on busy Florida highway for turtle crossing road, causes multi-vehicle crash

Both tortoises were stolen from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park back on November 30, 2022, according to police. Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were able to verify it was the two juvenile Galapagos Tortoises stolen by using the chips on them. 

Pictured: The Galapagos Tortoise found alive in the front yard of a St. Pete home. Courtesy: St. Pete Police Department. 

St. Pete police said the tortoises are each worth about $10,000. Once grown, officials said Galapagos Tortoises can reach 600 pounds and live for 150 years. 

St. Augustine police will be charging McCarty-Thomas in the case. The suspect will also be charged in three different commercial burglaries in St. Pete and Ocala. 

Investigators said he stole rare books worth thousands of dollars from Lighthouse Books and Haslam's Book Store in St. Pete back in October 2019 and December 2022. He is also accused of stealing valuable comic books worth thousands of dollars from a store in Ocala.