CONTRA COSTA TIMES (California) 18 December 08 Reggie's scaly saga at an end (Donna Littlejohn)

The final chapter in the Reggie-the-alligator saga came to a close Thursday when a second man accused of dumping the critter gave up his legal battle and was sentenced to community service and probation.

Todd Natow of San Pedro, a former Los Angeles police officer, was given the option of serving 60 days in jail or 45 days in community service. Superior Court Judge Bernard Kemper also imposed three years of probation.

The defendant, who faced 14 misdemeanor counts related to releasing the alligator into Machado Lake in Harbor City, threw himself on the mercy of the court after plea bargain negotiations rather than face a jury trial.

"He pleaded `open to the court' on all 14 counts," said Los Angeles city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan. It is assumed, he said, that the defendant will accept the community service time with Caltrans in lieu of jail time.

At a separate hearing scheduled for January, Natow will be ordered to pay restitution to the city of Los Angeles for the money spent investigating the case and trying to corral the elusive Reggie, who drew worldwide media attention.

The other defendant, Anthony Brewer of San Pedro, pleaded no contest and was sentenced in April 2006 to three years of probation. He already has paid $100,000 in restitution to the city, but Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn estimates the total cost to be around $180,000. Natow will be ordered to pay the rest.

Police believe Brewer and Natow acted together to release the alligator after Brewer's pet became too big for its backyard habitat.

The 6-foot-long reptile was discovered swimming in the lake at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City in August 2005. He was caught on May 24, 2007, and now is the star of his own exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Natow chose to fight the charges, challenging the search warrant used in a predawn raid in the summer of 2005. Police, acting on a tip received during the investigation, confiscated three smaller alligators along with some other illegal exotic pets and marijuana plants from Natow's South Shores home.

A judge in November 2006 denied Natow's initial defense motion to throw out the warrant used in the arrest. Natow's defense attorney, Robert A. Schwartz, appealed the ruling but lost that effort about 60 days ago.

When that appeal was denied, the two sides entered into plea negotiations.

Schwartz said Natow did not want to go through a jury trial because his son would likely have been called as a witness and "he didn't want to put him through that."

Schwartz said the City Attorney's Office wanted Natow to serve time in jail, but "that was unacceptable to us, especially since Todd is a former police officer. Former police officers who go into a custody environment are at great risk."

The sentence pronounced Thursday came after conferences with the judge.

"It is nice to finally see a conclusion to the saga of Reggie the alligator," Hahn said in a statement Thursday. "I've never wanted to see either Mr. Natow or Mr. Brewer do any jail time. However, I always felt that the city should be reimbursed for the cost of his irresponsible dumping of the alligator in the lake."

Most of the city costs incurred involved park security and the hiring of experts who attempted to capture Reggie over nearly two years.

"The good thing is that no one got hurt," Schwartz said. "Crocodiles are very aggressive but alligators generally coexist peacefully with humans. So the claim of public danger, I think, was exaggerated."
Reggie's scaly saga at an end

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