Man charged will killing alligator, trying to sell meat

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man has been charged with killing an alligator and trying to sell its meat.

Local news outlets report that 33-year-old Shaun Edward Sparks was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of possessing and killing an alligator.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says residents in a Lakeland neighborhood called authorities Sunday afternoon, saying Sparks was trying to sell them an alligator tail. A licensed trapper responded and found the seven-foot alligator’s carcass. The animal had been stabbed multiple times.

After his arrest, Sparks told officers he had taken to meat home to show his girlfriend, 27-year-old Christy Michelle Vincent. She was also arrested and charged with a single count of possessing an alligator.

Jail records didn’t list attorneys for Sparks or Vincent.