Florida man wrestles then tosses alligator onto bar's roof because he was "teaching it a lesson"

The last time we reported on Florida’s (literal) reptilian predators, they were set to enjoy a cold-blooded hot gator summer for the ages, happily banging their way around the state. Now, perhaps because just hearing about the alligators’ carefree behavior was enough to inspire a state of furious moral outrage, one of these poor creatures has been wrestled and then launched onto the roof of a bar by a Florida man in an attempt to “[teach] it a lesson.”

The Daily Beast, its name very literal in this case, explains that a 32-year-old man named—honestly—William “Bubba” Hodge was arrested last Thursday in Daytona Beach Shores for taking it upon himself to roughly educate the gator. A police report says Bubba was seen carrying the alligator, after he had engaged in “a brief wrestling match” that included “slamming it on the ground by its tail,” and was observed “trying to throw [it] onto the roof of a business.” After he was arrested, Bubba “was charged with five offenses, including the felonies of Animal Cruelty, Possession/Injury Of An Alligator, and Burglary.” When asked why he went after the gator, Bubba “told police he was ‘teaching it a lesson.’”

The alligator has since been returned to the miniature golf course Bubba claimed to have stolen it from. Hopefully it’s doing well now and, if it learned any lesson from the encounter, it’s taken away the warning that it should run like hell as soon as anyone who even slightly resembles a “Bubba” draws near.

Also, as a closing note: We swear to god, if there’s even the slimmest possibility that this gator was Chicago celebrity Chance The Snapper, this will not be the last time you hear of this story.

[via Boing Boing]

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