LAKELAND, Fla. — A Florida man has been charged with killing an alligator and trying to sell its meat.
Local news outlets report that 33-year-old Shaun Edward Sparks was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of possessing and killing an alligator.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says residents in a Lakeland neighborhood called authorities Sunday afternoon, saying Sparks was trying to sell them an alligator tail.
A licensed trapper responded and found the seven-foot alligator's carcass. The animal had been stabbed multiple times.
After his arrest, Sparks told officers he had taken the meat home to show his girlfriend, 27-year-old Christy Michelle Vincent. She was also arrested and charged with a single count of possessing an alligator.
Jail records didn't list attorneys for Sparks or Vincent.
Associated Press