Off the Grid News – by Daniel Jennings
A Florida man was arrested for shooting an aggressive alligator, on his own property, that threatened not only his horses but also his stepson.
Reginald Blanton, 74, could face up to five years in jail for shooting an alligator that eventually died.
Using a 9mm handgun, Blanton took four shots at the alligator when he saw it near his horses on his property in Bushnell, Florida, WFLA reported. He said they were acting strange.
“I took my gun with me … because I didn’t know what was out there,” Blanton said.
Three of the shots hit the alligator. Blanton’s stepson, Jack Hildreth, 58, then went over to the gator, which attacked him.
“Whenever [the alligator] raised up after my stepson, it looked like he was shot out of a cannon,” Blanton said of the reptile. “I had never seen nothing like it.”
The animal, which was still very much alive, bit Hildreth’s leg and gave him a severe wound.
“It was a burst of lighting-like,” Hildreth said. “It was just a surprise. … His mouth is the only part that got me and he got the back of my calf, too.”
Fortunately, someone on the scene pulled Hildreth to safety. He was then taken to a hospital.
What happened next was nearly as shocking as the alligator attack. Sumter County Sheriff’s Deputies charged Blanton with illegal killing an alligator — a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison in the state of Florida.
Friends and family were shocked by the arrest, WFLA reported. Blanton’s family now has to pay for medical expenses for Hildreth, and bail and an attorney for Reginald.
“If I had just left him alone, he would have had my horses.”
It is illegal to kill alligators in Florida unless you have a license. Gator hunting season started on August 15 and lasts until November 1.
The state of Florida raised around $1.63 million by selling 6,000 alligator hunting licenses for the 2016 season, WFLA reported. Florida now has an alligator population of 1.3 million. Alligators were originally an endangered species but the population is now stable.
There have been several high-profile alligator attacks in Florida recently, including that of a two-year-old boy who was killed near a Disney World hotel in Orlando.
The score is….
Ranchers 1.
Visitors 0.
Not counting…
Bundys.
Hammonds.
Lavoy Finnegan
And the guy in Idaho.
Trying to get his bull off the freeway.
God forgive me …I can’t remember his name.
Say what you will….
That’s 4 ranchers taken out in a year.
They have the pork.
They have the chickens.
What’s left…..
Your fkng beef!
Mmmmmm …Mmmmmm
I’ll have a double quarter pounder with cheese with solient green from China.
THAT SOYLENT GREENS GOT “LECTROLYTES!!!”
Flee, that was Jack Yantis. And, surprise, surprise, the DA is refusing to prosecute the two thug deputies that murdered Jack
Sounds like somebody needs to go out and catch a bunch of gators and then release them into Rick Scotts swimming pool.
Hopefully, he jumps in without looking first.
Why was he arrested??
Because he forgot to say the alligators looked like they were attacking him, and it was reasonable to assume that he was in immediate danger of death or serious bodily injury.
It doesn’t matter that the alligator bit him. He shot the gator before that happened, and he wasn’t in fear for him life when he did it.
They’re going to arrest anyone they can on any gun charge they can, because gun owners are the commie’s #1 enemy. If you shoot a person, or an animal out of season, make sure you have your ducks in a row before the police show up……. and just as the cops always say in court: “I was in fear for my life” will be your only way out.
as if a cop showed up and wouldn’t have done the same thing, right before shooting the land owner and his two dogs and possibly one of his kids
hopefully one day people will take care of business and keep their dam mouths shut about it
S. S. S.
“…. charged Blanton with illegal killing an alligator — a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison in the state of Florida.”
They could give a rat’s @ss about the gator.
They want this guy’s gun(s) because he’s obviously not afraid to use one. Felony conviction accomplishes that.
IF he acquiesces.
Should have kept his mouth shut and tended the wounds himself. Good lesson for us all.
Unfortunately, he probably wouldn’t survive without professional medical attention. Gator bites are NASTY.
It would seem that the red States have a bigger problem with the pigs than the blue States. makes no sense.