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Florida Man Accused Of Bizarre Alligator Incident At Wendy’s Restaurant

By Chelsea Hoffman
Published on: 11:17 PST, Feb 9, 2016

A Florida man has been arrested after allegedly committing a downright bizarre crime using an alligator as a sort of weapon. The Dreamin’ Demon reports that 23-year-old Joshua James has been charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession and transportation of an alligator. What he allegedly did with the alligator to get these charges is nothing short of comical — and a little frightening.

ABC News 15 reports that James (of Jupiter, Florida) placed a drive-thru order at a Wendy’s restaurant in Royal Palm Beach. When he reached the window to pay for his food, the employee working the drive-thru first gave him his soft drink. That is when he allegedly reached into the backseat and retrieved the alligator, which he immediately threw through the drive-thru window, into the establishment.

This incident reportedly took place in October of last year, but authorities have only recently been able to track the Florida man down to arrest him. He also reportedly admitted to police that he picked the gator up on the side of the road before transporting it to the Wendy’s restaurant where the incident occurred. So it seems that he has fessed up to his antics, which earned him a new mugshot with some charges that could garner him jail time if he is convicted.

Matthew Riggins died in Alligator attack. FDLE mugshot
Matthew Riggins died in Alligator attack. FDLE mugshot

This isn’t the only bizarre crime to be committed in Florida — especially involving alligators or some other wildlife. Last year a Florida man died from an alligator attack while he was hiding from police who were pursuing him. The Washington Post reports that Matthew Riggins was allegedly caught in the act while he was lurking around a neighborhood to commit burglaries. When police went after him, he got away by hiding near a body of water, which was home to a rather large gator. The animal has since been euthanized.

There have also been a variety of shocking stories that made it to mainstream media headlines, only to later be discovered as hoaxes. One such incident took place last year when numerous reports surfaced about a Florida man caught having sexual relations with an alligator. The story went viral, only to later (finally) be debunked by the Sun Times. The hoax stories that circulated involved a 59-year-old man named Rupert Darwin. The man was allegedly caught blindfolding and tying up the gator before sexually assaulting it. While it was indeed a bizarre story that many people foolishly believed, it was definitely a hoax.

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As far as this latest case goes, the Florida man accused of hurling an alligator at a Wendy’s worker is going viral on social media. His parents have even made comments to the media, claiming their son did what he did all as a “stupid prank.” The young man has also been released from jail following the viral arrest, and has spoken to media reporters about the crime he allegedly committed. This, like the rest of the case, is attracting a ton of attention on social media.

[Photo: FDLE Mugshot/Joshua James]

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