Men caught with hundreds of baby alligators. Two Sumter County men, Robert "Bo" Martin Duval Christopher Cork Scroggins, were greeted by wildlife officials early Thursday morning as they came ashore in their airboat on Lake Apopka with a couple of sacks full of recently hatched alligators, according to a Florida Fish and Wildllife Conservation Commission (FWC) release.
"You have got me, and I have a lot of alligator hatchlings," Duval said as the officers who were on surveillance the boat ramp approached him, according to the release:
Officers returned the hatchlings to the lake alive.
Charges are also pending against a woman who helped the two men at the boat ramp, and the incident is still under investigation.
Possessing/capturing hatchling alligators is a third-degree felony, which, on conviction, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to the FWC.
Duval, 32, and Scroggins, 22, both of Bushnell, were booked into Lake County jail early Thursday on felony possession/capture of hatchling alligators and misdemeanor conspiracy charges. Duval had additional felony charges of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. The firearms were concealed under some vegetation in the boat, according to the FWC.
Get the DUHtails at the Florida Fish and Wildllife Conservation Commission (FWC) release.
Source:sun-sentinel
