TAMPA TRIBUNE (Florida) 22 April 08 8-Foot Gator Found In Oldsmar Kitchen, But Not On A Plate (Neil Johnson)
Oldsmar: People living in Sandra Frosti's neighborhood are used to seeing alligators lounging about in the grass, with all the retention ponds nearby.
One neighbor in the Eastlake Woods subdivision saw an alligator crossing the street just the other day.
But Frosti's encounter was unusual even for this gator-jaded neighborhood: An 8-footer tore through her screened back porch about 10:30 p.m. Monday. When Frosti went to investigate the noise, she spotted the head on her kitchen floor.
That's all she needed to see. Frosti, 69, of 20 Evelyn Court, quickly called 911 and left the house, Pinellas County sheriff's deputies said.
The alligator apparently tore through the screen of the 10-foot porch and entered the home through an open sliding glass door. It walked through the living room, down a hall and into the kitchen, deputies said.
A trapper with Animal Capture of Florida caught the alligator. The gator was slightly injured during the scuffle when a plate was knocked to the ground, cutting the animal.
No other injuries were reported.
"Oh my goodness," said Helen Marcik, who lives in the same duplex unit as Frosti, when she was informed of the invasion this morning.
Cindy Rogers, who lives across the street, recently saw an alligator crossing the road while she was taking a walk.
"I really don't like them. They're kind of prehistoric," Rogers said.
Other neighbors say alligators are a common site on the banks of retention ponds, two of which are a stone's throw from Frosti's duplex.
"I've seen them sunning themselves between the pond and the street," said Emilio Riera.
The neighborhood of about 10 duplex buildings along Evelyn Court was in the news during the weekend, too: A car lost control and ran into Riera's screened porch.
Earlier Monday, a lawn crew working across the street from Frosti's duplex chased an alligator into a pond about 3:30 p.m.
"It must have been 8 or 9 feet long," Mike Cummings, who works with the crew, said this morning.
Frosti apparently was at work this morning when news crews showed up at her house. A repair man was there, too, sent by the landlord to fix the hole in the screen.
8-Foot Gator Found In Oldsmar Kitchen


