Florida man charged after lassoing 9-foot alligator: 'I was just trying to help'

A 71-year-old Florida man was arrested and spent the night in jail after authorities say he illegally "lassoed" an alligator.

Robert Tencie Colin of Cape Canaveral was charged last week after he captured a gator without proper permissions, according to local authorities. Colin was concerned about the turtles in his local canal, he told the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and received no response when he called the office or animal control.

"They don’t have the manpower or the hours to wait for this alligator to appear," he told Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY network. "I thought I was doing them a favor, helping them.”

How did Colin lasso the gator and what is charged with?

Colin took matters into his own hands on Wednesday, using a nylon clothesline to create a noose-style loop to “lasso” what he told Florida Today was an "aggressive" gator.

Colin managed to get the loop hooked around the 9-foot gator's upper jaw, at which point he tied the rope to a handrail to secure it and called authorities. When police responded, Colin initially told them that he had found that gator that way because he didn't “want the glory" of telling them he'd trapped it, he told Florida Today.

After reviewing security footage, however, police were able to confirm that Colin had been the one to capture the gator. Because Colin does not have a license or permit to legally remove or attempt to remove a gator, he was charged with killing, injuring, or possessing an alligator or egg without authorization, a felony, police told USA TODAY.

“I said, ‘Let me tell you what I did to help you out,’ and they told me to put my hands behind my back," Colin said. "I told them I couldn’t do that because I just had heart surgery ... I didn’t know it was illegal. I’m not from Florida. I was just trying to help.”

Colin told Florida Today he spent about 13 hours in jail before he was released on a $2,500 bond. Multiple local outlets have reported that the gator, which was classified as a nuisance, was later euthanized.

There are proper channels to follow to get a nuisance or dangerous gator removed from an area, a representative for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office told USA TODAY. Concerned citizens could contact local law enforcement or the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to have a licensed trapper come out and relocate the animal.