09/11/2026
Today!!!! Pray for justice!!!
🐊 Heads up for folks who have been following the case of "Allie" the Alligator! 🐊 Final plea day is tomorrow, Sept. 11, for the three men charged with misdemeanors in connection with her capture and death by power drill.
The Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court's office just confirmed the case involving Kevin Lacz, Richard Reder, and Jason Griffin will be addressed Friday at hearing starting at 8:30 a.m.
For those unfamiliar with the case, Allie the alligator was for some neighbors a beloved local fixture off Avalon Blvd. in the Garcon Point area of Milton, where they say she had lived peacefully for years inside a fenced-in, locked retention pond.
In March 2026, the three men—including decorated former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Kevin Lacz—used keys their attorney Greg Whibbs says the property owner gave to Lacz to enter the enclosure.
According to FWC, Lacz "suspected" he was going to get another call about Allie so they used a weighted treble hook to illegally snag the submerged 8.5-foot alligator and drag her to shore, then used a snare and tape to secure her mouth and legs, dropped her in the back of Reder's truck, then hauled her off alive to Lacz's house in Gulf Breeze.
MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife says the men then killed Allie by driving a commercial power drill into her skull, bypassing what Florida laws describe as humane and lawful wildlife protocols.
According to state laws she should have been dispatched on the spot using a weapon like a gun or bang stick and then tags affixed to her remains.
Witnesses saw and reported the men to FWC for capturing Allie.
Because Lacz's state nuisance alligator permits had expired and no active nuisance complaints had been filed, Allie did not legally meet the criteria to be removed.
"We determined that Mr. Lacz, Mr. Reder, and Mr. Griffin harvested the alligator without a valid FWC nuisance alligator permit and failed to affix the required CITES tag to the alligator after it was dispatched," the FWC arrest report said. "We advised Mr. Lacz that nuisance alligator permits are only valid for forty-five days and that the CITES tag must be affixed to the alligator immediately after dispatch."
FWC officers report finding the dead animal at Lacz's house, charged them with criminal misdemeanors and they each received two warnings: 1) Unlawful sale, possession, or transporting of alligators or alligator skins 2) Commission may require that an alligator hide validation tag (CITES TAG) be affixed to the hide of any alligator taken from the wild.
"Based on the totality of the circumstances, including the issuance of criminal citations and the revocation of the nuisance alligator trapper permit, officers took appropriate enforcement action to address the violations," an FWC spokesperson said.
The incident sparked intense public outrage and accusations of favoritism from wildlife advocates when FWC only charged the men with second-degree misdemeanors.
Under Florida law, intentionally killing an alligator without authorization is typically classified as a third-degree felony poaching charge, carrying penalties of up to five years in prison.
In June, the State Attorney's Office charged each of them with one misdemeanor count of Violation Level 2 FWC Rule or Regulation 1st Offense. If convicted, they could face up to 60 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $500.
The discrepancy in charges led to community protests and an online petition demanding stricter accountability, while neighbors and wildlife groups continue to mourn the loss of what they considered a harmless alligator not bothering anybody.
I first reported on this case two months ago and at the time made several public records requests for information as to who owned the property where the alligator lived, who made the original complaint about her in 2024 when Whibbs said Lacz was initially permitted to capture and dispatch the "nuisance" alligator, among other questions including the legality of using a power drill to euthanize an animal.
Turns out Lacz had been issued 80 permits for trapping nuisance gators since 2024 according to the state's website, but only used 15 of them.
FWC said in their report they confiscated the alligator's remains. According to a source, the co**se of an alligator that was the same size and description of Allie turned up on property FWC uses for disposal of road kill around the same time the alligator was killed, but those remains were removed about a month later.
As a reporter covering any alleged crime, it's as much about following the process as it is the crime and the circumstances raised questions for me like:
Why use a power drill? Is alligator trapping their hobby? Is this som**hing they or other alligator trappers do often? Why are they allowed to keep keys to state property for two years? Why did they apparently feel so comfortable trapping and killing the alligator without proper permits? What is the nature of their professional working relationship with FWC? Was that Allie's body at the Roadkill graveyard? If so, why was it moved?
So I tracked down the owner of the property, which turns out to be a branch of the Florida Department of Transportation, and it took them over a week to determine who exactly owned the retention pond where Allie lived and who exactly made the complaint. They said it was a maintenance person who mowed around the retention pond and felt uncomfortable with her presence.
According to FWC, Lacz told authorities he tried and failed to capture the alligator in March 2024 before his permit to do both expired two months later. When he and his "agent trappers" drove by in their truck and saw her in March of this year, Lacz agreed that it was a "capture of opportunity."
I asked FDOT why Lacz was allowed to keep keys to state property for two years and if that was standard procedure, and did not receive an answer.
FWC initially responded that they did not have a record of the original 2024 complaint about Allie. Well, just last week they now say they found not one, but two complaints about alligators in the same vicinity from that time period. 🤔
One was for Allie the alligator and the other complaint was for a 4-foot alligator in another nearby retention pond. FWC tapped Lacz to dispatch both gators.
The state now finding these reports is interesting because it seems to me the hunters' defense boils down to a "paperwork error." In other words, according to their attorney, they had permission once upon a time and if they didn't have it at the time, no biggie.
Some folks are fine with that because this is about alligators.
Whereas others, including wildlife advocates and some neighbors who live in the area feel the incident has been unfairly handled and the defendants are getting away with a slap on the wrist after alleging "the alligator ate my homework" defense.
Alligators are protected by state and federal law and advocates want accountability if for no other reason than to send a message that wildlife and wildlife laws matter, but in this case they're not holding out much hope.
"I feel like nothing will happen," said Jennifer Dory, a woman who lives in the Garcon Point area and often visited Allie the alligator. "I think these guys are untouchable. I hate to say it but it really seems true and it breaks my heart for Allie and to think of her suffering and dying in such a cruel way."
I'll let you know what happens in court tomorrow.
