MELBOURNE, Fla. – Two tourists are facing felony charges after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers said they strapped a dead alligator to the roof of their vehicle and drove it across Central Florida.
Anthony Buhl, 56, of New York City, and March Wallin Chadwick, 57, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, were arrested Saturday on U.S. Highway 192 near St. Johns Heritage Parkway in Melbourne.
According to FWC arrest reports, the pair was first spotted driving through Celebration with the alligator — described as roadkill — strapped to the roof of their vehicle. License plate readers tracked the car heading eastbound, and a second hit was recorded near Harmony in St. Cloud, where the gator was still on the roof but had since been covered with a white sheet.
Officers pulled the vehicle over on U.S. 192 in Melbourne, where both men admitted they had been warned by multiple people that possessing an alligator is illegal in Florida, the report states.
They told officers they covered the animal with the sheet after learning this. Both men also admitted they wanted to take the alligator to a taxidermy office to have it stuffed. The pair had also called FWC dispatch and told officials they had gotten rid of the alligator, according to reports.
Both Buhl and Chadwick were charged with illegal killing, possessing, or capturing of alligators or other crocodilia or eggs.
The pair appeared in court on Sunday before being released on bond. Both men are scheduled for an arraignment on April 28.
Under Florida Statute 379.409, a person may not intentionally kill, injure, possess, or capture an alligator or their eggs without a permit from FWC.