Florida man arrested after he lassos alligator, ties it to fence, then calls 911 to report it: Deputies

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A Florida man is accused of tying an alligator up against a fence and later calling 911, claiming to have found the reptile that way, deputies said. 

Robert Colin, 71, faces a felony charge of injuring a gator without authority in the July 31 incident, an affidavit shows. 

According to deputies, Colin arrived at the area of W. Central Blvd and Oak Manor Dr. around 7:30 a.m. to capture a gator nearby. 

Colin allegedly used a white nylon rope to lasso the gator around its upper jaw and tied the reptile to a handrail. After capturing the Gator, Colin called 911 to respond and told deputies he found the gator tied to the handrail. 

Video footage depicted a different story about what happened. 

The footage showed Colin using the white nylon rope to create a loop to catch the gator with, deputies said. 

FOX 35 spoke with Colin, who said the nuisance gator had begun eating turtles about three years ago. "Kicking them up in the air - I watched it - and crunching, eating the babies," Colin said. 

He said he would walk to feed the turtles as therapy for a heart condition he has. He also admitted to feeding several gators in the area. Colin said he's called animal control several times in the past but hadn't gotten a response. 

So he decided to take matters into his own hands. "You have to understand, there's people there, kids there, dogs there. A lot of people up here are at that area," Colin said. 

He says he didn't lasso the gator, but instead the gator bit at the nylon rope and ended up trapped. When the sheriff's office showed up, they questioned him about the circumstances surrounding the trapping. 

Colin says after deputies showed up at his house, he was arrested for a felony. He said he didn't know he was even charged with a crime 

The gator ultimately had to be euthanized.