Frozen Gopher Feet Theft Valued at $5K Leads to Arrest of Mom, Son

A mother and son from Minnesota could face jail time for allegedly stealing nearly $5,000 worth of frozen gopher feet from a local trapper in 2012.

Tina Marie Garrison, 37, and Junior Lee Dillon, 18, both of Preston, Minn., were charged May 2 with felony theft after a man reported that more than a thousand gopher feet went missing from his garage freezer sometime between Nov. 23 and Dec. 5, according to PostBulletin.com.

Michael Junge, a local trapper who catches the pests and turns them into the township for a bounty of $3 per pair of feet, contacted the Fillmore County Sheriff's Department in December and reported that his stockpile of gopher feet was missing.

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Dillon had reportedly dated Junge's girlfriend's daughter at one point and had been to the man's house before, which could explain how he knew about the gopher feet in the freezer, according to KAALtv.com.

"[A police officer] checked around with the various townships and was trying to determine if anybody had turned in a large amount of gopher feet and it was discovered that Harmony Township had received many, many gopher feet," Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson told KAALtv.com.

Garrison and Dillon are accused of turning in approximately $4,800 in gopher feet, telling township officials that they had been saving them up to cash in for three years.

Dillon denied ever cashing in the gopher feet, while Garrison reportedly told police she got them from her oldest son who got them from a friend. But when police contacted Garrison's oldest son, he denied his mothers' story.

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Garrison pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Dillon is due in court July 29 for a hearing. Each is being held on $10,000 bail. If found guilty, the mother and son could face up to 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

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