A 12-foot alligator turned up shot dead along U.S. 264 near Stumpy Point in Dare County, and it did not take long for the case to snap shut. Wildlife officers say a social-media video of the killing pointed them straight to a 23-year-old Virginia man, who has now pleaded guilty, handed over his gun, and been hit with fines, community service, and restitution that will fund research on North Carolina’s American alligator population.
How Officers Followed The Online Trail
On April 2, Officer John Schlegel got a report that a huge alligator was floating in a canal near Stumpy Point off Highway 264. When officers checked it out, they found the animal had been shot multiple times. Before long, a member of the public tipped investigators to a social-media clip making the rounds that showed the gator being killed. According to The Charlotte Observer, reviewing that video led officers to identify the shooter as Noah Voyles, 23, of Chesapeake, Virginia.
Protected Status And Tight Rules
The American alligator is classified as State Threatened in North Carolina and is also federally listed as Threatened due to similarity of appearance to other protected species. That status means taking an alligator is tightly controlled and only allowed under specific conditions. State rules spell out when alligator season is open, who can get permits, and what restraint methods are allowed for any legal take. For more on the species’ status and the regulations that govern alligator hunting in the state, see N.C. Wildlife and the state administrative code at 15A NCAC 10B .0224.
Plea Deal, Penalties And A 50-Year-Old Gator
Voyles was charged on April 6 with unlawfully taking an alligator during the closed season and taking a protected species on the state Threatened Species List. He pleaded guilty on May 1 and was ordered to pay $2,283 in fines and replacement costs, complete 200 hours of community service, and forfeit the firearm used in the killing, according to The Charlotte Observer. Officials also said law enforcement had already seized that firearm on the same day the gator was shot after Voyles was caught carrying it concealed without a permit. A necropsy by state biologists found the alligator was nearly 50 years old, and state officials say the restitution from the case will go toward alligator research and management.
How To Report Wildlife Crime Tips
Anyone with information about wildlife crimes can contact the N.C. WILDTIP reporting system at 800-662-7137 or submit an anonymous tip online. The commission’s WILDTIP page explains how tips are handled and details the reward program for information that leads to convictions, per N.C. Wildlife.
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