HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Luis Coba, a 30-year-old Hollywood resident, was arrested Wednesday morning after allegedly disturbing protected sea turtle nests on a Hallandale Beach shoreline.
According to a police report, a witness saw Coba pulling wooden stakes and ripping down tape meant to mark and protect two sea turtle nesting sites. He then kicked sand over the areas where mother turtles had laid eggs. Officers responded to the scene near 2801 East Hallandale Beach Boulevard and took Coba into custody shortly before 8:30 a.m.
Coba was booked into jail on two counts of disturbing and molesting a turtle nest, a third-degree felony under Florida law.
Court records reveal that at the time of this incident, Coba was out on bond related to an earlier arrest by Hollywood police. That June 20 case involved charges of false imprisonment, robbery by sudden snatching, and criminal mischief after Coba allegedly took a victim’s iPhone and iPad in the lobby of his apartment building.
Responding officers in that case found Coba naked and in a paranoid state, requiring transport to Memorial Regional Hospital.
Prosecutors have now formally filed charges in both the Hollywood and Hallandale Beach cases.
