Two arrested for dumping alligator into L.A. lake

Oddly Enough, Reuters ^ | 2005-08-24

[Junior]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two men have been arrested for releasing a man-sized alligator into a Los Angeles lake, where the big reptile has eluded increasingly frustrated authorities for two weeks, police said on Wednesday.

Anthony Brewer, 36, was taken into custody on Tuesday night at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of San Pedro, where police said they found remnants of a make-shift alligator habitat, two snapping turtles and drugs.

Evidence seized there led officers to the nearby home of Todd Natow, 42, who was also arrested. A Los Angeles police spokesman said officers discovered three alligators, four piranhas, three desert tortoises, six tortoise eggs, one rattlesnake, a scorpion and marijuana.

The spokesman said investigators believe that Brewer owned the alligator and gave it to Natow, who put it into Lake Machado in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles about two months ago.

The reptile was reported to authorities about two weeks ago and since then has dodged repeated attempts to capture it by park rangers and professional gator wranglers brought in from out of state.

The cagey creature has meanwhile won the affection of some local residents, who gather around the 53-acre (21 hectare) lake waiting for it to surface from the brackish water.

Others have hawked T-shirts bearing an alligator drawing and the words: "Harbor City You Will Never Catch Me."

[Junior]

A follow up.

[Doogle]

you don't arrest them, you make them go scuba diving in the lake for sea shells.


Doogle

[ken5050]

I just have to ask..what is the charge?

[LearsKent]

Do these fellers deal sharks, too?

[beltfed308]

Gator dumping?

[evets]

Officers discovered three alligators, four piranhas, three desert tortoises, six tortoise eggs, five golden rings...one rattlesnake, and a scorpion in a marijuana tree.

[Feiny]

It is illegal to have those animals.

[VRWCmember]

I just have to ask..what is the charge?

Cruelty to animals. Can you imagine releasing a poor aligator into a filthy Los Angeles lake?

[peacebaby]

"...make-shift alligator habitat, two snapping turtles and drugs.... "

What's an alligator gonna do with two snappng turtles and drugs?

Oh, I'm confused.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

you don't arrest them, you make them go scuba diving in the lake for sea shells.

I say tether them to a stake on the shore, with sharpshooters hidden nearby. As soon as the 'gators have dined, let the sharpshooters nail 'em. (The 'gators that is.)

[Abathar]

Years ago when I lived in MI a customer we kept teasing about living around all the gators in GA trucked up a repair job to us with a big tub on the top of it. Inside was a 4' gator in a large burlap sack in the water. After laughing our butts off we didn't know what to do with it, so we took it to a state park and turned it loose in the lake. We spent the whole summer enjoying reading the stories of the gator sightings in the local paper, I only say this because the statute of limitations has passed...

[ARealMothersSonForever]

I dunno. Maybe lifestyle issues?
"officers discovered three alligators, four piranhas, three desert tortoises, six tortoise eggs, one rattlesnake, a scorpion and marijuana".
I know Cajuns that could make a heckuva meal with all that.

[InsensitiveConservative]

Cruelty to animals - have you seen that polluted lake? ;)

[crazyhorse691]

The cagey creature has meanwhile won the affection of some local residents, who gather around the 53-acre (21 hectare) lake waiting for it to surface from the brackish water.

Others have hawked T-shirts bearing an alligator drawing and the words: "Harbor City You Will Never Catch Me."

---

Should we tell them that gators are not vegans or wait for them to find out on their own?

[Junior]

I'm sure there's some law regarding the introduction of non-indigenous species to lakes or streams.

[gnarledmaw]

"The reptile was reported to authorities about two weeks ago and since then has dodged repeated attempts to capture it..."

Maybe I could sell these guys a little invention I ran across. Its good for catching all sorts of elusive and dangerous things. I call it the "Reye-Full"...

[scory]

LOL. Best post of the day.

[Pessimist]

"officers discovered three alligators, four piranhas, three desert tortoises, six tortoise eggs, one rattlesnake, a scorpion and marijuana."

In other words "Party Supplies"

[zygoat]

All this fuss over one AMERICAN alligator, yet they let the illegal predators from south of the border roam free and try to give them all the protection and benefits they can. I'd rather live with the gators' myself.