Fla. Woman Gets Probation For Moving Injured Gator

local6 ^

[chance33_98]

Fla. Woman Gets Probation For Moving Injured Gator

POSTED: 6:11 a.m. EDT July 8, 2003

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. -- A 49-year-old woman who loaded a badly hurt 6-foot alligator into the back seat of her Honda Accord in February received one year probation.

Leslie Strickland, of Port Charlotte, hit the animal with her car Feb. 21 and went back the next day hoping to rescue it. Instead, she crashed her car when the gator started to thrash in the back seat, got arrested and spent the night in jail.

Strickland was charged with possession of an alligator, a felony in Florida. Police also charged her with driving with a suspended license and walking away from the scene of the accident - leaving the injured alligator in the back seat of her Honda.

She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Monday of unlawful transportation of an alligator, and was sentenced by Circuit Judge Isaac Anderson Jr.

[Catspaw]

Okay--who got the injured gator out of the crashed car?

[Support Free Republic]

Any way I can talk you into making a donation?? Thanks if you will!

[auntdot]

Unfortunately for her she should have followed the "code of the west".

Shoot, shovel and shut-up.

I guess it doesn't pay to be nice to a critter any more.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Okay--who got the injured gator out of the crashed car?

I want to know how she got it in the car. The lady has "future darwin award winner" written all over her.

[Catspaw]

Well, see, Leslie was the one who hit the poor gator in the first place & felt bad because she hit a living thing (see PETA). Maybe she was just trying to give it a good home in the back of her Honda.

Leslie Strickland, of Port Charlotte, hit the animal with her car Feb. 21 and went back the next day hoping to rescue it. Instead, she crashed her car when the gator started to thrash in the back seat, got arrested and spent the night in jail.

But if there was a video of Leslie getting that 6 ft. gator into her Honda & watch it thrash around, I'd pay good money to see it, especially if it could be put on a continuous loop.

[jla]

Strange, but true, (and not too smart) ping

[Joe 6-pack]

"Strickland was charged with possession of an alligator, a felony in Florida."

I think this depends on whether it's for personnel use or with the intent to distribute...#8-)

[chance33_98]

Unfortunately for her she should have followed the "code of the west".

Speaking of which, over the last two years I have watched little TV. Got my DVR hooked up, wife is out of town for 3 weeks, and I have discovered the western channel. Something about those old westerns I really like. True Grit was on today - don't get much better than that.

[Jay D. Dyson]

Her brain was MIA, but her heart was in the right place.

I consider myself pretty empathetic to the plight of injured wild animals, but I'm not foolhardy enough to take a wild animal and put it in my back seat. I'd sooner call animal control...(and no, I don't mean the idiot drag-em-by-the-pick-up-to-the-end-of-the-block f---tard types who seriously need to get their butts kicked).

-Jay

[Kay Ludlow]

True Grit's one of my favorite westerns too! John Wayne in his grizzled, curmudgeonly stage...

On the Alligator - I thought they were becoming common enough to nearly be considered pests. Those antiquated laws about having possession of these species is still in effect? Old laws never die, they just hang around waiting for an obscure time to be enforced...

[squidly]

What? No "Hold muh beer and watch this" ping?

[chance33_98]

Here, hold my gator and watch....AHHHHHHH!HHH!H!H!H!

[Treasa]

I tried to save a snapping turtle once (unsuccessfully). Gators are *WAY* out of my league..*s*...Trease...

[nmh]

Hmmmmm ... " walking away from the scene of the accident - leaving the injured alligator in the back seat of her Honda. " Guess she forgot about helping the already injured gator get the needed medical attention.

After all this, did the gator live?

[Frank_2001]

How the heck do you do the probation for this? Does the probation officer drop by her house periodically to check it and her car for wildlife?;)))))

[chance33_98]

Does the probation officer drop by her house periodically

If one does I hope she is drinking gatorade when they get there :)

[bill3foot]

Gatorade! That's a good one.

[longtermmemmory]

these gator cases are stupid. They only encourage people NOT to call the authorities or get help.

Like they said above, shoot, shovel, shutup.