71-year-old lassos 9-foot gator, tells deputies he found it that way, Florida cops say
%20cro_fitted.jpeg "A man accused of tying up a 9-foot gator in Florida is now charged. He told news outlets he was trying to help.")
A 71-year-old man took it upon himself to trap a 9-foot gator and tie it to a handrail, then he told deputies he found it that way, Florida authorities said.
Surveillance footage shows him taking a nylon rope and dropping it into a canal to “lasso” the alligator, according to an arrest affidavit from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
McClatchy News reached out to the public defender’s office Aug. 2 and did not immediately receive a response.
The man, who lives in Cape Canaveral, told Florida Today he didn’t realize it was illegal and “was just trying to help.”
He’s accused of violating Florida statute 379.409, which concerns illegal killing, possessing, or capturing of alligators or other crocodilia or eggs.
In a sworn statement, the man said at about 7:30 a.m., he went to the area and planned to capture and remove a gator, deputies said.
“This alligator appeared, and some of the public told me that they’re eating the turtles,” he told WSVN.
He tied the rope into a noose and snagged the gator by the top of its jaw, deputies said.
He told WSVN he planned to catch the gator, then have law enforcement take care of the rest.
“I decided, ‘Well, maybe I can catch it and keep it here, because they can’t monitor it 24 hours, then I’ll help them out,’” he told the outlet.
The 9-foot gator was deemed a nuisance and was euthanized, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
The man wasn’t a state licensed gator trapper and didn’t have proper permits to legally remove a gator, deputies said.
Cape Canaveral is on Florida’s Atlantic coast, about a 55-mile drive east from Orlando.
This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 5:28 PM with the headline "71-year-old lassos 9-foot gator, tells deputies he found it that way, Florida cops say."