This Oct. 12, 2015 photo provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shows an alligator in the kitchen of a Wendy’s Restaurant in Loxahatchee, Fla. Florida wildlife officials say that 24-year-old Joshua James threw a 3.5-foot alligator through a fast-food restaurant’s drive-thru window in October. He’s charged with assault with a deadly weapon. On Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, bail was set at $6,000. AP
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Alligators have been used as shoes, briefcases, university mascots, lunch and now, authorities say, a deadly weapon.
Joshua James, 24, was arrested Monday and charged with assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officials say he threw a 3.5-foot (1-meter) alligator through a Palm Beach County Wendy’s drive-thru window in October. He’s also charged with illegally possessing an alligator and petty theft. Jail records show he was released on $6,000 bail Tuesday. He was ordered to have no contact with animals.
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Wildlife officer Nicholas Guerin said in his report that James drove his pickup truck to the window at about 1:20 a.m. Oct. 11. After an employee handed James his drink, he threw the alligator through the window and drove off. No one was hurt. Guerin captured the alligator and released it into the wild. Guerin said James was tracked down through video surveillance and a purchase at a neighboring convenience store.
Guerin wrote that James admitted throwing the alligator in a December interview. He said James told him he had found the alligator on the side of the road and put it in his truck.