Florida woman pulls an alligator from her yoga pants. Now a judge has his say
This Florida woman’s first mistake: putting an alligator inside her yoga pants and more than 40 turtles into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack.
Her second mistake: getting into a pickup truck with a driver who would soon be pulled over for running a stop sign.
That’s when a Charlotte County deputy asked the pair why they had the wildlife inside the pickup. When they told him they were collecting frogs and snakes, the deputy asked if they had anything more.
That’s when, on May 6, Ariel Michelle Marchan Le Quire pulled a footlong alligator out of the yoga pants she was wearing.
On Wednesday, Charlotte County Judge Peter Bell in Punta Gorda sentenced the 26-year-old woman to six months’ probation and 200 hours of community service, according to court records.
Le Quire was also ordered to donate $500 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — the agency that handled the investigation after deputies charged her with possessing an American alligator, possessing more than one turtle per day, transporting more than one turtle or turtle eggs and one count of possessing a softshell turtle.
In July, Le Quire was cited for failing to appear in court. Le Quire, listed as homeless on her booking record, was jailed on July 29 and held on a $10,000 bond. She was released on Wednesday to face the judge.
She was represented by a public defender and entered a plea of no contest.
This story was originally published August 15, 2019 at 11:22 AM.
