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Pair pleaded not guilty for harassing monk seal

WAILUKU — Two men pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge alleging they harassed a monk seal on a Lahaina beach.

Daniel Davison, 21, of Springville, Utah, and Lucas Meister, 38, of Wickenburg, Ariz., are each charged with the offense of taking a monk seal prohibited.

According to the complaint against the defendants, “take” means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect endangered or threatened species.

Police were called at about 10 p.m. Sept. 29 after several witnesses reported seeing two men trying to push a monk seal into the ocean near the seawall by Cheeseburger in Paradise on Front Street.

One man reportedly was seen kicking the seal, police said.

Davison and Meister each posted $5,000 bail to be released.

Their attorneys said Davison and Meister had returned from the Mainland for their cases.

“He was simply a tourist visiting at the time,” said Meister’s attorney, Graham Mottola.

Dec. 14 pretrial conferences were set for the men, who were arraigned Wednesday in 2nd Circuit Court.

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