Daytona Beach Shores, FL. – A 32-year-old man William Hodge from Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, has been charged with multiple crimes after being caught swinging a stolen alligator around by its tail in order to “teach it a lesson,”.
According to a police affidavit, William Hodge, a fisherman, was observed on South Atlantic Avenue at 3:21 a.m. Thursday attempting “to throw a live gator over a building top.” “William Hodge took the alligator by its tail and slammed it into a building awning… slammed the alligator onto the ground and stomped on it twice… threw the alligator over his shoulder and then threw it down to the ground as though he was attempting to injure the alligator.
When police confronted him, Hodge appeared to have made no attempt to escape or argue. The affidavit states that he immediately left the Alligator and was arrested.
Hodge gave a reason for a physical argument with the stolen animal. He told police he was “teaching it a lesson”. Moments before officers arrived at the scene, Hodge admitted that he had gone to [Congo River Golf] and jumped into the fence Alligator Fort and stole an alligator.
While he was holding in the cell at the Daytona Beach Shores Police Department, Hodge “deliberately” flooded the prison cell with toilet water continuously, filling the container with toilet paper and making it flow again and again, the affidavit said. When confronted, Hodge said that he would flood the whole place.
George King, general manager of the small golf company where Alligator lives, did not specify the size or weight of the alligator. However, he valued the stolen alligator at $ 300 and said the business was charged with theft and theft. Volusia County Animal Control says the animal has returned home.