Gator hunter and “Swamp Individuals” persona Troy Landry, 63, was charged with two counts of failing to tag an alligator on Sept. 19 after he was caught in a sting operation by the Louisiana Division of Wildlife and Fisheries. The LDWF regulation enforcement workplace had acquired an nameless name the day prior tipping them off to unauthorized gator strains with white flagging on Lake Palourde in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, in accordance with an incident report acquired by Out of doors Life.
Sgts. Jake Darden and Harry Gaines arrived at Lake Palourde at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 19 to stake out the realm. Upon their arrival, they discovered the strains that the tipster had talked about on the telephone. (The tipster had claimed that he and his buddy have been the one ones with permission to run gator strains on the lake.) A dwell 7- to 8-foot alligator was hooked on one of many strains in query.
It wasn’t till 1:43 p.m. that recreation wardens watched a vessel strategy the strains from their hid stakeout spot. Landry was within the boat, together with a second suspect, a 28-year-old lady who LDWF officers declined to call because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, and an unidentified digicam man. The wardens watched because the second suspect lifted the road and informed Landry that the gator was “a great one” and to seize the spear. Landry then speared the gator and the duo pulled it onto the boat, dispatching it. At this level, the sport wardens deserted their stakeout and approached the boat.
Picture by Taylor Hill / FilmMagic
When the wardens greeted Landry and the opposite suspects, Landry replied that “that they have been doing good and simply scouting.” He additionally informed the officers he had permission to hunt he property, which the sport wardens confirmed was true (opposite to the tipster’s declare) with a name to the property proprietor.
“Mr. Landry stated that each alligator within the vessel on the time was from the Atchafalaya Basin space and have been tagged as such,” writes Gaines within the report. “I collected the tag numbers on each alligator to substantiate the realm to which the tags have been assigned. I confirmed that not one of the tag numbers matched any of the tags that have been assigned for this space… “
That’s when Gaines learn Landry and his companion their Miranda rights.
“I requested Mr. Landry in regards to the alligator that we noticed him take [off] the primary alligator line,” writes Gaines. “Mr. Landry acknowledged that they didn’t take an alligator from the property. After proving to him that we have been watching your complete time, Mr. Landry admitted that he took the alligator from this space however couldn’t discover the tags that have been gifted to him for this hunt. On account of him not having the ability to discover the right tags, he tagged the alligator with [a tag good in Iberville Parish]. Mr. Landry additionally admitted that previous to brokers making contact with him, he reduce a lifeless ‘stiff’ alligator unfastened from his line and let it float away.”
Learn Subsequent: 7 Florida Males Charged for Poaching Gators with a Pickaxe, Machete
After ticketing Landry and his companion, and seizing the boat, engine, and alligator, the wardens positioned the lifeless gator in query. It had the identical kind of line that Landry was utilizing floating from its mouth. The untagged gator didn’t look like salvaged, however LDWF was in a position to promote the improperly-tagged gator.
Failure to tag an alligator is a class 4 violation in Louisiana. It carries a sentence of as much as 120 days in jail and $950 in fines. Landry will seem in courtroom for a civil restitution listening to on Nov. 20 and in felony courtroom on Jan. 25. Landry informed native information station WAFB-TV that he had “nothing to say” in regards to the costs, including, “I obtained a dashing ticket additionally final month however I’ve nothing to say about it.”
“‘King of the Swamp’ Troy Landry is among the most well-known and fearless alligator hunters within the bayou,” reads Landry’s solid bio on the Historical past Channel. “Because the son of a fisherman and seafood distributor, Troy has gator searching in his blood. He persistently fills extra tags than any swamper within the Louisiana.”