An Orlando man was arrested after he was caught illegally dumping tires on private property – and allegedly shot at an alligator with a rifle that he claimed was going to attack him while doing so, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Arisleyder Reina-Tornes, 40, is facing several criminal charges regarding an incident that was first put on FWC officers' radars on March 17, according to an incident report.
On that day, FWC officers visited an area of private property on Boggy Creek Road and East Wetherbee Road in Orlando. This area had a fence around it and a "no trespassing" sign at the entrance. The gate, however, was open – and about a thousand tires were found in the area.
Just over two weeks later, officers responded and positioned themselves at a good vantage point to see who was arriving and dumping tires. That's when they spotted Reina-Torres' vehicle enter the property.
He allegedly aimed a rifle outside the window and started firing shots toward the water, according to the report. He then got out of his minivan and continued to open fire. When he put the rifle away, he went to the back of his trunk and began to unload tires.
Officers approached Reina-Tornes, conducted a traffic stop and took him into custody.
In a post-Miranda interview, Reina-Tornes told officers that he was shooting at the alligator "because it was going to attack him," the report said.
"Mr. Reina-Tornes was still in his vehicle when he was first shooting at it, and the alligator never made any threatening movements toward him, and when we approached the alligator, it never approached us.
The Department of Environmental Protection is also seeking to charge additional violations from their own investigation.
Further investigation revealed that Reina-Tornes was never allowed on the property and was never given permission to dump tires. Officers said they have reason to believe Reina-Tornes was working with a tire shop.