Lakeland man charged will killing alligator, trying to sell meat

An alligator, like one that attacked a man in Mississippi last week, is pictured here. The victim managed to escape the iron jaws of the gator , which can act like a steel trap and rip an arm off completely.

By Associated Press

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.

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.

[ >>>Read more Polk County stories<<< ]

A licensed trapper responded and found the seven-foot alligator's carcass. The animal had been stabbed multiple times.

Jail records didn't list attorneys for Sparks or Vincent.