Deputies say they found guns, meth and a baby gator after they pulled over a pair of motorists on a midnight drive in Florida.
via: People
Collier County deputies discovered guns, drugs, and a baby alligator after pulling over a black GMC Sierra pickup around 12:30 a.m. local time on Friday near 12th Street Southeast and Golden Gate Boulevard in Naples, the department said in a post on their Facebook page.
The 31-year-old front-seat passenger of the car, identified as Michael Marolla, 31, of Golden Gate Estates in Naples, Fla., was arrested on two counts of carrying a concealed firearm and two additional drug charges following the stop, the sheriff’s department said.
Deputies initiated the stop after they “recognized the driver from previous law enforcement encounters as having a suspended license,” per the post.
Upon inspecting the vehicle, deputies allegedly discovered “multiple loaded syringes” inside Marolla’s jacket, which eventually tested positive for methamphetamine.
Deputies also found two concealed guns within Marolla’s reach — one underneath the front passenger seat and one located in the truck’s glove compartment.
To top it all off, deputies also located a live baby alligator inside an open plastic tub sitting in the bed of the pickup truck.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was notified about the alligator and “wildlife officers responded to investigate,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Marolla bonded out of jail on Saturday, according to Collier County’s public arrest record. He is due back in court on May 2.
It is unclear why the alligator was in the truck, or how it got there. However, it is illegal to take live American alligators from the wild without a valid Alligator Trapping License, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s website.
Alligator farming is currently “a very tenuous business” as the alligator hide and meat market “is extremely volatile,” per the commission.
