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Lake County man arrested for allegedly dismembering alligator
A Lake County man has been arrested for allegedly capturing and dismembering an alligator, according to officials. FOX 35's Kelsie Cairns spoke with neighbors about the incident.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man has been arrested after he allegedly captured and dismembered an alligator.
What happened?
What we know:
On July 13, investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said they responded to a report of an alligator being captured and killed the day prior in Lake County.
When investigators arrived at the scene, they met with deputies from the Lake County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), who received a statement from the woman who made the complaint.
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The witness said her neighbor, Luke Sparga, asked her how to clean an alligator. When she asked him where he got an alligator, he said a child had caught the reptile and couldn't get his fishing lure out of its mouth, so he began to beat the animal. The witness also said Sparga shared he was going to eat the alligator, but decided not to after it had sat out for a while.
The investigators traveled to see the dead alligator before then interviewing another witness who said she saw a man catch, beat and kill an alligator across from her house in a waterway attached to Lake Apopka. She said the man then brought the reptile across the street to her side-yard, and she saw another man with "lots of knives" dismember the animal and leave it in the yard.
Deputies spoke with Sparga, who said he saw a man, 28-year-old Hunter Crumbo, catch an alligator and hit it over the head. Sparga said that Crumbo brought the reptile across the street to his girlfriend's home. He said he then saw another man cut up the alligator.
Hunter Crumbo, 28, was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail. (Credit: Lake County Jail)
Officials next spoke with the man who Sparga said had allegedly cut up the alligator. The man said he did not mutilate the reptile and that the others must have said he did "because they hate him." He said Sparga and Crumbo took him into the yard to show him the "almost dead" alligator. He said Crumbo was the one who caught the animal, and he saw him hit the alligator several times with a golf club. The man said he did "put the alligator out of its misery," but did not cut it up.
Yet another witness told detectives that they saw Crumbo fishing in the canal. The witness said Crumbo asked him for "a golf club or something" to hit an alligator he had caught on his line.
Investigators interviewed Crumbo, who admitted to catching the alligator and beating it with a golf club.
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Crumbo was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail.
It’s a third-degree felony under Florida law to kill or injure an alligator.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).