Florida man stole gator from mini-golf course and repeatedly beat it, police say

[Zorro]

The alligator was returned to the mini-golf course after the man’s arrest.



A Florida man is accused of stealing a gator and beating it repeatedly before he was found by police, according to the Daytona Beach Shores Police Department.

William Hodge, 32, was arrested after police said they witnessed him attempt to throw a stolen alligator onto the roof of a business in Daytona Beach Shores, a small coastal community just south of the more well known Daytona Beach. When Hodge failed to make it onto the roof, police say the Fort Myers man continued to beat the animal, slinging it into the ground by its tail.

Hodge faces charges of animal cruelty, alligator poaching, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, criminal mischief and petit theft, jail records show.

The Daytona Beach Shores Police Department said on Facebook that Hodge stole the gator from the Congo River Golf course at 2100 South Atlantic Avenue around 3 a.m. Thursday. After his arrest, the animal was returned to the golf course, which allows guests to feed gators as an attraction.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/bizarre/2021/07/15/florida-man-stole-gator-from-mini-golf-course-and-repeatedly-beat-it-police-say/

[viva la]

1. Florida man, arrested without a shirt.

And how very weird that feeding alligators is a tourist activity.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

5. I know in Pasco county...

no shirt is uniform of the day.

[Chainfire]

2. What a stupid ass.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears to me that not only is his brain in the wrong place, but so are his ears.

[packman]

3. Booze and stupidity- a terrible mix

[marble falls]

4. A possible exception to my anti-death penalty stand. Which only make me firmer anti-death penalty.

[Dreampuff]

6. I'm not a fan of alligators, but there is no reason to torture them.

We know a couple who would say they just don't know what happened. A good Southern boy from a good Christian family. It's like a broken record for them, but let someone of A different race do something and the story changes.