LAKE CITY, Fla. – Four men are facing charges after Florida wildlife officers investigated an anonymous tip about a Facebook post showing photos of some of them posing with wild turkeys and a dead alligator.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials say Travis McFatter admitted killing five turkeys, including two birds in one day. The legal daily limit is one and the season limit is two.
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McFatter also told officers that he picked up the road-kill alligator near his house, took it home and butchered it.
"Mr. McFatter also explained he picked up the road-killed alligator near his house," said FWC Investigator Todd Hoyle. "He took the gator home, snapped a few photos and ate the meat."
Someone who saw the Facebook photos of McFatteron posing with freshly harvested turkeys and notified the FWC. One of the photos included McFatter's friend Blake King.
McFatter, 27, King, 20, and Zachary Espenship, 20 -- all of Lake City -- and Dustin Parrish, 26, of Lulu, were cited by the FWC.
The fourth man was charged with allegedly killing a deer as it stood blinded by his truck headlights.
"Mr. King gave permission to search his truck and investigators found fresh blood in the bed and on the tailgate of his pickup," Hoyle said. "He told us that he and his friend, Mr. Espenship, were headed home from their hunting club and saw a deer standing on the shoulder of the road. Mr. Espenship then shot the deer."
The two-day investigation led to 13 misdemeanors and two infractions