(USNewsBreak.com) – Whenever people hear the term “Florida Man,” they know a good story is coming. That was certainly the case recently when someone tipped off police that one Saint Cloud, Florida, resident was housing wildlife in his home. Now, he’s facing criminal charges.
On October 23, police visited the home of 38-year-old Robert Lee Robinson. He wasn’t home, but someone let authorities into Robinson’s home with his permission. What they found there resulted in officers issuing a criminal citation for personal possession of wildlife without a permit. Apparently, Robinson had snatched up a few alligator hatchlings and was raising them in his bathtub, a major no-no in The Sunshine State. In fact, it’s a felony to kill, injure, capture, or possess the reptiles or their eggs.
Wildlife officers at the scene took pictures of the baby alligators and collected them. After ensuring no other illegal animals occupied the home, officers visited Robinson at his job, issued the citation, and gave him a date to appear in court. He faces up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted. Wildlife rehabilitators later released the alligators into Lake Tohopekaliga.
Robinson isn’t the only Florida man to buy trouble with the law for messing with alligators. In addition to catching and keeping the reptiles, it’s also illegal to feed them in the state of Florida. Yet, that hasn’t stopped several from continuing to do so over the last several years.
In 2019, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission tried to issue then-67-year-old Paul Fortin a citation for feeding bagels to a 10-foot alligator. When he refused, officers took him into custody. The same year, authorities arrested two Florida men in Palm City after they captured an alligator and tried to get it drunk by pouring beer into its mouth.
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