Deputies arrest suspected gator poacher
Apr 18, 2011 6:27 PM EDT
PORT CHARLOTTE -
A suspected alligator poacher is under arrest after a member of his own family turned him in. Deputies found the gator's body buried in the backyard of a Charlotte County home. They say the suspect went to great lengths to avoid getting caught.
Charlotte County deputies say 47-year-old Scott Easton's backyard went from piles of dirt to an alligator's grave site.
"The tail and the corpse were over here and the head was over there," said Easton's stepson Travis Ruiz.
Ruiz says Easton killed a six-foot gator, skinned it and kept the meat in their refrigerator.
"Yeah he did. It was in the freezer. Everyone was going to eat it," he said. "I was out there fishing and I started calling the cops because I looked at another gator that was swimming in the water, looking for a friend."
When deputies arrived Ruiz showed them 20-pounds of alligator meat.
The deputies also uncovered pieces of the gator's body all over their backyard. Fish and Wildlife officials found the gator's body, hands, feet and layers of skin.
"He's my step-dad and I had to report my step-dad. Yeah I'm very upset about it. I couldn't sleep last night," said Ruiz.
But now, Ruiz says he may be able to sleep knowing his stepfather may face up to five years in prison plus a $5,000 fine.
"I'm a Christian and I was just trying to do something right," he said.
By Saundra Weathers
NBC News
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