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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Fla. Judge Goes Easy on |Man Who Tossed Alligator

(CN) — Describing the case as the most bizarre he's ever seen, a Florida judge on Tuesday sentenced a man to a year probation for throwing a live alligator through the drive-thru window of a fast food restaurant.

Joshua James, 24, tossed the four-foot alligator through the window of a Palm Beach County Wendy's last October, later telling police he found the gator on the side of the road and only meant to play a prank on a friend.

However, when it turned out his friend wasn't working at the Royal Palm Beach Wendy's that day, James decided to go ahead with the prank anyway a decision that led to his initially being charged with several felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon.

No one was hurt as a result of the prank and the alligator was later returned to the wild.

Appearing before Palm Beach County Judge Barry Cohen on Tuesday, James apologized for his actions and entered an open plea to two misdemeanors.

After accepting the plea, Cohen said that in his 25 years on the bench, the case was the most "bizarre" he'd ever seen.

"I've never seen anything close," he said.

But becoming more serious in tone, Cohen reminded James that what he did was not a prank, but a crime for which there are consequences.

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