Overview
- Deputies in Volusia County responded to Stetson University's aquatic center after a report that teens were harassing a baby alligator.
- Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and photos that showed a 14-year-old holding the gator by the tail, swinging it, and kicking dirt on it.
- The teen was booked into juvenile detention on a charge of possessing or harming an alligator without Florida wildlife approval, which the affidavit lists as a level 4 felony.
- Officials have not found the alligator, and detectives say the video suggests it may have been returned to the water.
- Authorities contacted the other teens’ guardians, trespassed the group from the aquatic center, and Sheriff Mike Chitwood publicly condemned the conduct.