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October 3, 2002
DAYTONA BEACH -- A tourist who stole an alligator from a miniature golf course was charged with animal poaching and petty theft.
Derrick Dale Cooper, 22, of North Carolina used a noose to catch the 3-foot alligator Monday night at Congo River golf park, pulled the reptile over a fence and took it to his hotel, said Glen Schwarz, a Daytona Beach Shores police officer.
Cooper was found in the hotel parking lot, clutching the alligator and holding its mouth closed.
He was released Tuesday from a Volusia County jail after posting $1,000 bail.
Last year, a pair of tourists were arrested for taking a gator from the same golf park. Wildlife officials caught them as they were watching the animal swim in their hotel pool.