Florida man arrested for illegally keeping alligators, slider turtles on his property: FWC

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man has been arrested after he was caught keeping alligators and several freshwater slider turtles on his Marion County property, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Robert Miller, 42, was taken into custody on charges of illegal killing, possessing or capture of alligators and unlawful taking of slider turtles, according to an arrest report.

In August, wildlife officers arrived at Miller's home on SE 65th Street in Ocklawaha after receiving a tip about him possibly having two alligators in his backyard swimming pool.

Booking photo of Robert Miller (Credit: Marion County jail)

When the two FWC officers questioned him about it, he initially denied having alligators on his property, but later admitted the reptiles were in his pool, officials said.

Miller said the gators had been in the pool for about three months, the report stated. He explained that his ex-girlfriend's friend placed the gators in the pool and claimed he tried contacting FWC on multiple occasions to have them removed. FWC said he could not provide any evidence in his call log to show he had attempted to reach out to authorities. 

Two alligators were removed from Robert Miller's backyard swimming pool by a nuisance alligator trapper, according to the FWC. (Credit: FWC)

While investigating the property, FWC officers also found an alligator that had been recently killed and multiple freshwater slider turtles in a "kiddie" pool in the front yard.

Miller admitted to killing that alligator with a pickax due to "the dog" and "twenty cats in the yard that love going down by the lake," according to the report. Miller reportedly took the turtles from the lake behind his house. 

The turtles found on Miller's property were returned to the lake behind his home, authorities said. (Credit: FWC)

He was placed under arrest and booked into the Marion County jail. He was released the next day.

The alligators were removed from the pool by a nuisance alligator trapper and the turtles were returned to the pond.