Police near Daytona Beach arrested a man who they say stole an alligator from a tourist attraction and began tossing the animal to “teach it a lesson.”
NBC affiliate WESH-TV reports 32-year-old William Hodge, who lives in Southwest Florida, was arrested Thursday morning while walking on a street in Daytona Beach Shores.
Witnesses say Hodge swung the reptile by the tail and tried to toss it on top of a building. Officers say Hodge slammed the alligator into an awning before throwing it on the ground and stomping on it several times.
Hodge admitted to officers he stole the alligator from a nearby miniature golf course it had been enclosed in. Charges he is facing were not released.
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The alligator is expected to be okay.
