Tyler Muehl, the 18-year-old La Jolla resident who kicked a sea lion on camera in July, faces up to a year in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday, Oct. 20.

His guilty plea on Aug. 13 to violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act has sharpened a parallel push to restrict public access to La Jolla Cove during pupping season. The La Jolla Parks & Beaches board voted Aug. 24 to send a limited-access resolution to the city of San Diego Parks & Recreation department, and city officials say they are now in talks with the California Coastal Commission on next steps.

No concrete action has resulted yet. The proposal's timeline remains unclear.

What Muehl admitted

Muehl told prosecutors he approached a sea lion sitting on a sea wall near Point La Jolla late on the night of July 22, referred to himself as UFC fighter Max Holloway and kicked the animal four times, twice in the face, according to NBC San Diego. The sea lion recoiled and fled over the wall to the beach.

He was charged in a misdemeanor bill of information and pleaded guilty at his arraignment the same day, first reported by 10 News. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt is scheduled to sentence him Tuesday, Oct. 20. He faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California called the case a "federal crime" with "federal consequences."

The access proposal

More than 100 people packed the Aug. 24 La Jolla Parks & Beaches meeting, forcing organizers to move it from a seminar room to the larger community room at the La Jolla/Riford Library. Board members Chas. Dye and Kurt Hoffman presented the resolution.

Under the plan, La Jolla Cove would remain open from June 1 through Sept. 15 each year but only for swimmers, snorkelers and divers. Beach recreation and animal viewing from the sand would be prohibited. The stairs by the lifeguard station would stay open with water-access-only signage; the western stairs would close.

Dye said at the Aug. 24 meeting that a full closure of the Cove was an imminent threat and that the board needed to act. "Given the choice of closing The Cove or this, I would take this," he said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Where it stands

City Council President Joe LaCava said in a Sept. 9 statement that keeping the Cove open is becoming "increasingly challenging" given recent harassment incidents and tourist traffic, the Union-Tribune reported. City representatives confirmed they had entered discussions with the California Coastal Commission on how to proceed.

At a Coastal Commission meeting Aug. 14, Commissioner Matt O'Malley said he believed a partial closure was the only way to address the situation until the city gets its program implementation resolved. Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement on the city's website that the guilty plea made clear that harming or harassing marine wildlife carries serious consequences.

The numbers underscore the urgency. As of Aug. 14, 56 sea lion pups had been born near La Jolla Cove since June, and six verified pup deaths had occurred there, NBC San Diego reported. The Seal Society of San Diego estimated overall sea lion pup mortality at 43% across La Jolla in 2026. At Point La Jolla, where a permanent seasonal closure is in place, estimated pup mortality was 6%.

The resolution now sits with the city Parks & Recreation department. Muehl's sentencing is set for Tuesday, Oct. 20.