Wildlife Officers Find Felon With a Gun, as Well as a Few Bags Containing 260 Baby Alligators
Categories: Animal Planet, Crime
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| Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission |
| That, ladies and gentlemen, is a sack of alligators. |
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, two of their officers were doing surveillance at the Montverde boat ramp on Lake Apopka in Lake County on Thursday night when Duval, 32, and Scroggins, 22, rolled in on their airboat.
"You have got me, and I have a lot of alligator hatchlings," Duval reportedly told the wildlife officers.
Indeed, the men did have a lot of baby alligators -- 260, according to the FWC.
Under some vegetation on the boat, the cops also found some guns, which earned Duval felony charges for possession of firearms and ammunition by a felon, according to the wildlife commission.
The cops returned the baby alligators to the lake, while Duval and Scroggins were jailed for possessing or capturing hatchling alligators, which is a third-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine.
Duval's gun charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Both of the men posted bail to get out of jail -- $13,000 for Duval, $3,000 for Scroggins -- and the FWC says charges are pending against a woman who assisted the two men at the boat ramp.
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| Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission |
| Robert "Bo" Martin Duval (left) and Christopher Cork Scroggins |
"Unfortunately, there is an illegal market for hatchling alligators, and people who participate in this type of poaching have no regard for our resources or the laws that protect them," FWC Officer David Straub says in a statement.
Follow The Pulp on Facebook and on Twitter: @ThePulpBPB. Follow Matthew Hendley on Facebook and on Twitter: @MatthewHendley.
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