ARIZONA REPUBLIC (Phoenix) 19 April 05 Traffic stop finds unexpected cargo (Lindsey Collom)
It could have been a zoo on wheels.
A Department of Public Safety officer discovered a slew of alligators, snakes and tortoises packed inside a fifth-wheel recreational vehicle during a traffic stop on Interstate 10.
The officer was patrolling the interstate south of Case Grande about 11 p.m. Sunday when he noticed a pickup truck pulling a large trailer without functioning taillights. He said he decided to search the vehicle after the driver, 38-year-old Damon Heymen, and his wife began acting unusual. advertisement
"Here our officer had thought he was getting a dope load, and it was a bunch of alligators," DPS Officer Frank Valenzuela said.
Thirty-two alligators to be exact, half a dozen fully grown, but most under 3 feet. More than 50 boa constrictors, tortoises, chickens, rats, rabbits and dogs also were also part of the menagerie.
The couple told investigators they were just passing through, relocating from San Bernardino, Calif., to Georgia.
Even so, the gators and tortoises were illegal cargo. It is against the law to possess an alligator in Arizona without a permit.
The tortoises also may be endangered. Arizona Game and Fish officials believe they are Mojave Desert tortoises, a "threatened" reptile according to the federal Endangered Species Act.
Like Arizona, California labels alligators a restricted animal. It was unclear Monday whether Heymen had a permit from the California Department of Fish and Game.
A crew of three officers from Arizona Game and Fish spent seven hours binding the alligators' mouths with duct tape before loading them into several trucks and trailers.
"They were a little feisty," said Ken Dinquel, a Game and Fish investigator. "A couple of them were pretty large, and they were snapping. The big bruiser was 400 pounds."
Dinquel said it's "fairly common" for officers to encounter alligators in the Valley.
"We get folks moving into Arizona, bringing their pets with them and just assume it's legal," he said. " . . . But this many is unprecedented."
The alligators are being housed at the Phoenix Herpetological Society in north Scottsdale during the investigation.
Heymen was ticketed for the equipment violation and cited for possessing a restricted animal without permit, then released. Game and Fish spokesman Rory Aikens said there also might be a federal investigation.
"Federal officers may have an interest in this case because they were being transported across state lines," Aikens said. "Whatever the state may issue could be the least of this individual's worries."
http://www.azcentral.com/news//articles/0419gatorbust19.html
ARIZONA REPUBLIC (Phoenix) 19 April 05 One set of 'Gators' come to the aid of the other (Lindsey Collom)
With love, from one group of gators to another.
Students from Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix took their mascot, the gator, to heart Tuesday by selling carnations to benefit a group of 32 alligators impounded during a traffic stop near Casa Grande. A highway patrol officer discovered the gators in a fifth-wheel trailer Sunday night.
All proceeds from the flower sale will be donated to the Phoenix Herpetological Society in north Scottsdale, where the animals are being held.
Students want the funds - nearly $75 so far - to be used for alligator food. Club members hope to top their $100 goal when the fund-raiser resumes Wednesday.
Arizona Game and Fish confiscated the alligators when their owner failed to produce documentation for the restricted animals. The man claimed to be passing through Arizona with his menagerie, which also included more than 30 snakes, rabbits, rats, chickens, dogs and three tortoises that were believed to be endangered.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0419gators-ON.html
