PHOENIX — A Valley man who was caught trying to sell a tiger cub online earlier this year was sentenced Thursday to two years of supervised probation, officials said.
Carlos Castro Alcaraz, 25, was ordered not to own any exotic animals while he's on probation for the next two years and to pay $6,000 in restitution, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
The defendant pleaded guilty last month in Maricopa County Superior Court to one count of unlawfully handling and selling wildlife. Alcaraz was arrested in January after Phoenix police observed him trying to sell a baby tiger on social media for a price of $25,000.
He told investigators he allegedly bought the tiger from a man in Arizona for $8,000, court records show.
Officials seized the tiger and several other animals from the Alcaraz's residence. The tiger was taken to a big cat rescue in Minnesota after spending some time at the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale.
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What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.