‘Tiger King’ cat wrangler ‘Doc’ Antle faces up to 10 years in prison in South Carolina sentencing

Economy·Crime‘Tiger King’ cat wrangler ‘Doc’ Antle faces up to 10 years in prison in South Carolina sentencingBY Jeffrey CollinsBY The Associated PressBY Jeffrey CollinsBY The Associated Press "Doc" Antle in earlier times

Getty ImagesFive years after the true crime documentary “Tiger King” captivated a country shut down by COVID-19, the final legal troubles for one of its main characters will be resolved Tuesday in a courtroom in South Carolina

Exactly what punishment secutors are asking for and any arguments for leniency from Antle’s attorneys were kept from the public before Tuesday morning’s hearing in federal court in Charleston

Three others who pleaded guilty in his investigation received either bation or a four-month prison sentence

Antle’s sentence is the final true-life chapter of the Tiger King saga

The show centered on dealers and conservationists of big cats, focusing on disputes between Joe Exotic, a collector and private zookeeper from Oklahoma, and Carole Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue in Florida

Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is serving a 21-year federal prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill Baskin

Antle, who owns a private zoo called Myrtle Beach Safari, appeared in the first season of the documentary and was the star of the third season

Antle’s zoo was known for charging hundreds or thousands of dollars to let people pet and hold baby animals lions, tigers and monkeys that were so young they were still being bottle-fed

Customers could have photos or s made

Antle would sometimes ride into tours on an elephant

Myrtle Beach Safari remains open by reservation only, according to its website

Antle’s federal charges were brought after the Tiger King series

Secutors said he sold or bought cheetahs, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee without the per paperwork

And they said in a separate scheme, Antle laundered more than $500,000 that an informant told him was being used to get people into the U

Antle was used to having large amounts of money he could move around quickly, investigators said

Private zookeepers can charge hundreds of dollars for photos with docile young primates or other animals, but the fit window is only open for a few years before the growing animals can no longer be safely handled. “I had to get a monkey, but the people won’t take a check

So what do you do. ” Antle said according to a transcript of the phone call in court papers

Two of Antle’s employees have already been sentenced for their roles in his schemes

Meredith Bybee was given a year of bation for selling a chimpanzee while Andrew “Omar” Sawyer, who secutors said helped Antle launder money, was given two years of bation

Jason Clay, a Texas private zoo owner, pleaded guilty to illegally selling a primate and was sentenced to four months in prison, while charges were dropped against California ranch owner Charles Sammut

Antle was found not guilty of five counts of animal cruelty at that same Virginia trial

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