Posted on 12/08/2015 5:49:36 AM PST by fungoking
An accused burglar is dead after Brevard County deputies said he hid in a pond while on the run and was killed by an 11-foot-long alligator.
Matthew Riggins, 22, of Palm Bay was reported missing Nov. 13. His body was found 10 days later floating in a pond near Latan Court and Barefoot Circle, in Barefoot Bay. Investigators said it had the makings of a gator attack.
Shortly before Riggins was reported missing, he called his girlfriend and told her he'd be in the area breaking into homes, deputies said.
"He was going to do burglaries in the Barefoot Bay area with another individual," said Maj. Tod Goodyear, with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.
Neighbors reported to authorities that they saw two men dressed in black lurking behind homes. Deputies began searching the area and were later joined by more deputies, K-9 units and a sheriff's helicopter.
Investigators said Riggins then called his girlfriend to tell her they were being chased and lying low.
"Do you still here them hollering, or did they hunker down?" deputies could be heard saying on radio traffic.
Deputies called off the search that night, but then Riggins' family reported him missing less than 24 hours later.
"He probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator," Goodyear said. "To hide somewhere to try and get away, and then meeting up with an animal like that, no, I've never had that happen before."
"He hid in the wrong place," said Laura Farris, a Barefoot Bay resident.
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office dive team encountered the same gator while recovering the man's body, and the animal had to be euthanized by a trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Inside the gator's stomach, the medical examiner found proof of how Riggins was killed.
"I would say it's poetic justice, you want to sit there and steal from people," Barefoot Bay resident Chuck Stokes said.
Investigators said the other man thought to be breaking into homes with Riggins has not cooperated with the case, but so far he has not been charged.
His crime partner isn't cooperating...maybe a trip to the local gator park is in order...a little Amos Moses action.
Oh well, a story worth repeating.
That would be unfair to the gator if it met the same end as the first. Otherwise, game on.
They shouldn’t have killed the Gator, they should have fed him the partner in crime.
Poor gator...
After the alligator was euthanized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, forensic investigators found the burglary suspect's hand and foot inside the reptile's stomach, officials said.
It was determined that Riggins drowned as a result of the attack by the alligator.
'He hid in the wrong place,' Laura Farris, a Barefoot Bay resident told Bay News 9."
Alleged car theft suspect, Calvin Rodriguez, was arrested this week in Port St. Lucie thanks in part to an alligator.
Suspect hit alligator crossing the road
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA - The Port St. Lucie Police Department got an unexpected assist from a Port St. Lucie reptile resident last week as police apprehended suspected car thief Calvin Rodriguez.
"It's pretty unimaginable that police officers would be at that point in time looking for these suspects and that an alligator unfortunately just happens to cross the road and assist us in catching these criminals," said Det. Keith Boham.
According to the police report, Rodriguez is responsible for stealing at least five cars which were parked in area supermarket parking lots.
The police also said, Rodriguez was using 'shaved keys' which could open car doors and start Acura and Honda vehicles.
Rodriguez is facing five counts of Grand Theft Auto. The alligators condition is unknown at this time.
http://spacecoastdaily.com/2014/05/alligator-helps-st-lucie-cops-take-bite-out-of-crime/
Now, Amos Moses was a Cajun
He lived by his self in the swamp
He hunted alligator for livin’
He just knocked ‘em in the head with a stump
Louisiana law gonna get you Amos
It ain’t legal huntin’ alligators down in the swamp boy
Now, everybody blamed his old man
For makin’ him mean as a snake
When Amos Moses was a boy
His daddy’d use him for alligator bait
Tie a rope around his neck and throw him in the swamp
Alligator bait in the Louisiana bayou
Jerry Reed - Amos Moses
Too bad they didn’t have one of those Cop Caravan Funerals for the gator. Maybe name him Gator McClusky.
I guess he never considered that outcome!
“He called his girlfriend and told her he’d be in the area breaking into homes.”
What a thoughtful guy.
He could have become a Democrat politician.
But that was my GUARD gator!
And done his stealing legally.
I agree, poetic and perfect. I wish the gator would have eaten both those thieving POS turds.
It was once that way in Florida. But now, as with everything else, who knows?
Nice lizard
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.