TRIBUNE-REVIEW (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) 08 August 03 Man with alligator may face charges (Daniel Reynolds)
The owner of a 4-foot alligator could face criminal charges after taking the animal back to his house, Wilkinsburg police said Thursday.
Arthur Thomas, 23, of Rebecca Avenue in Wilkinsburg, where officials confiscated the alligator on Tuesday, brought the reptile back to his home after reclaiming it from Triangle Pet Control Service Co. Inc. of McKees Rocks on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Paul McIntyre, kennel manager with Triangle Pet, said Thomas paid $76 to reclaim the reptile about 3 p.m. Wednesday and was told not to bring the alligator back to Wilkinsburg.
Animal control officers yesterday returned the alligator to the custody of Triangle Pet.
"We have a hold on (the alligator)," McIntyre said. "Thomas is) not getting him back now."
Thomas could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Wilkinsburg police Lt. Todd Ruggierio said Sgt. John Snyder and patrolman Thomas Proctor were called to Thomas' back yard at 11 a.m. yesterday and again found the alligator in a children's pool.
Ruggierio said when Proctor tried to help animal control officers by grabbing the alligator's tail, the reptile wheeled and snapped at Proctor, missing his hand by about 6 inches.
Ruggierio said Snyder is investigating the possibility of filing reckless endangerment charges against Thomas.
Dave Andrews, Wilkinsburg code enforcement officer, said Thomas was given notice Wednesday that he had violated the borough's exotic animal ordinance. Violators could face a $500-a-day fine if they keep an animal past a deadline for getting rid of it.
Among the animals the ordinance prohibits are non-domesticated cats, scorpions, bears, venomous snakes, constricting snakes, alligators and crocodiles, Andrews said.
McIntyre said the reptile is a 6-year-old North American alligator that is 4 feet, 1 inch long.
The animal control officer said the alligator definitely is dangerous.
"That thing can take a finger off," he said. "It could be bad if some child thought it was a toy and tried to pet it or pick it up."
McIntyre said the animal likely will be turned over to a reptile handler from West Virginia.
Man with alligator may face charges