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14 Accused Of Illegal Berry-Picking In Gibsonton

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By MIKE WELLS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 5, 2007

Updated: 09/05/2007 12:59 pm

GIBSONTON - After having been warned twice in two weeks, 14 men were arrested Tuesday and accused of illegally picking saw palmetto berries at a county park, officials said.

At 2 p.m., deputies received a call from the staff at the Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve, 12181 East Bay Road, after catching the men in the act, Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. Four men were arrested last week on the same charge, illegally removing plants, jail records show.

The berries have medicinal properties, among which is reducing the swelling of the prostate, said Ross Dickerson, general manager of conservation for Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation.

It is illegal to pick them from the nature preserve because a county ordinance protects every plant on the property, he said. Saw palmetto berry bushes are prolific on the preserve.

The men, all from Guatemala, paid $250 bail and were released from Orient Road Jail.

Dickerson said the men were spotted two weeks ago and last week, and were warned both times to leave the preserve by Deputy Roy Johnson.

Berry thefts have escalated this year into a serious problem for the preserve, Dickerson said. The thieves sell the fruit for nearly $1 per pound to processing plants that convert them to powders and pills for sale as natural remedies.

There's little the staff can do to stop the thievery besides keep a sharp lookout for berry thieves, Dickerson said.

Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or mwells@tampatrib.com.

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