A month-long investigation that closed in May resulted in charges being filed against five Warren County teenagers involving killing alligators in Issaquena County, according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and local sheriff’s offices.
Tracy Tullos, an MDWFP enforcement captain, said the teens were charged in May, but the agency declined to name them; some were minors.
Three of the suspects were charged with illegally killing alligators without a possession permit, which carries a fine of up to $5,000 and five days in jail.
Two of the suspects were charged with unlawful possession of an alligator without a possession permit, which carries a fine of $25 to $100, plus court costs.
Tullos said because of flooding and vulnerable wildlife, the area was already being patrolled, but due to the complaints and information, efforts were increased, especially for illegal shooting from the main Mississippi River levee. Tullos said more resources were used along the backwater and main levee area and said that at least six alligators had been killed in those areas.
Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said that his office and that of the Issaquena County sheriff also agreed to increasing patrolling levees. Pace said that whenever the South Delta experiences high water on either side of the levee, wildlife is pushed to seek higher ground, exposing it to unlawful shooting. He said his office receives more complaints as the water rises.
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