Texans cited in Louisiana for poaching alligator
Four men from Texas have been cited for their suspected roles in an alligator-poaching incident Sunday in Louisiana’s Assumption Parish.
The Louisiana Department of Fisheries and Wildlife cited the men after responding to a complaint about an alligator carcass left at a truck stop.
Agents located the alligator and discovered a bullet hole in its head. Video footage from the truck stop implicated the four men.
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The men, cited for killing an alligator out of season, were identified as Boyd Bumbera, 23, from Brookshire; Baron Vargas, 27, and Manuel Gomez, 33, from Houston, and Jesus Fajardo, 35, from Baytown.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries stated in a news release that alligator hunting in the region does not open until the last Saturday in August.
Killing an alligator during a closed season carries fines of between $400 and $950, and up to 120 days in jail. The men might also be forced to pay civil restitution totaling $375 for the “replacement value” of the alligator.
–Alligator image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service