Man killed by alligator while fleeing police in Fla.

Associated Press

Published on: 11/13/07

MICCOSUKEE TRIBE INDIAN RESERVATION, Fla. — A man who jumped into a lake to flee police was killed by an alligator more than 9-feet long, officials said Tuesday.

The man, whose name has not been released, was allegedly burglarizing a vehicle in the parking lot of the Miccosukee Resort and Convention Center on Thursday. He ran when police arrived at the scene, said Dexter Lehtinen, one of the tribe's police legal advisors.

Tribal police divers searched for the man that night, then again Friday morning and afternoon. During the third dive, the body was recovered. It bore alligator teeth marks on the upper torso.

The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department said the cause of death was an alligator attack.

An accomplice in the alleged burglary has been arrested. The Miccosukee tribe, which is not obligated to follow Florida's open records laws, declined to release his name. Without a name, the Miami-Dade state attorney's office was unable to comment on whether the man has been charged.

The alligator believed to be responsible for the death has been killed. A coroner was scheduled to examine the 9-foot-3 reptile Wednesday for human hair or skin, said Brian Wood, owner of All American Gator Products, which is storing the gator in a cooler for now. It will then be incinerated or buried, he said.

A sign at the lake warns people: "Danger Live Alligators." Wood said in other alligator habitats, signs also warn people not to feed the creatures.

"They become too comfortable being around humans and they equate humans to food," Wood said. "Generally if a gator sees a person, he goes the other way, he goes down, he hides. This gator was aggressive, not afraid of people."

damn, poor guy.

lol oh, animals do great things...

Right on, gator, right on.

Saved the state of Fla. over $1600.00 a month! Oughta give that gator a medal!

haha you guys are cold, black hearted people. I would never wish that on anyone. Even if he did steal from a car. This is the hypocrisy of the world we live in I guess.

LOL that idoit got what he deserved. He ran and a gator handed out justice.

this just goes to show that the moat is coming back in a big way

haaha the moat.

I feel sorry for the gator. First a bad taste in his mouth. Then he gets killed.

Last I heard...burglary was not punishable by death?
Damn....these people are too cold for my liking.
Kat

How many of you can relate to a bad taste in your mouth? Then death? Oh my gosh...laughing my ass off
Kat

i'm all for saving money for a state and that gator served the American people!.they shouldn't have killed it,he would have crapped out the guys body sooner or later

damn the luck!!!
bet it wasn't the first criminal act, and bet there were several that he didn't get caught for.
i think like they do in texas, put an express lane in to the chair/table.

Whatever....I once was a bad girl. According to you guys I should have been put to death. I sure hope you follow the law to the letter.
Kat

yea people just like to think with they're emotions instead of rational thought. R.I.P to the gator and the guy. He must of had some f'up karma though.

stress kills. spent 12 to 18 institutionalized and then became a federal investigator.
hate to say it, but most people don't get caaught when they first start committing crimes, so statisticly speaking this wasn't his first offense and who knows what the worst offense was or may have been in the future.
sometimes you got to cut losses.
kinda like a boss firing someone when he thinks they aren't cost effective.

Aww Kat. I don't think the guy deserved death for trying to burglarize a car but the irony of trying to escape through a lake with gators is just too much.

hahaha isn't it... and another thing.. man sorry to the Federal investigator... I would hate working for the fed.. I can't wait till we cut those losses.

one last comment, you won't cut them loose.bye.

not alone I wont.