Robert Duval, Christopher Scroggins, Arrested For Stealing Baby Alligators (PHOTOS)

Wildlife officers recently caught up with two Central Florida men who had just spent a night stealing baby alligators.

Robert "Bo" Duval, 32, and Christopher Scroggins, 22, both of Bushnell, were arrested early Thursday morning on the shores of Lake Apopka, near Orlando, with a bag of 260 alligator hatchlings on their boat, according to The Miami Herald.

Upon being questioned by officers, the men surrendered the hatchlings. They were charged with felony possession/capture of hatchling alligators and misdemeanor conspiracy charges. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that one of the men also received felony charges for possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon.

When the officers aproached the men, the older suspect admitted, "You have got me, and I have a lot of alligator hatchlings," according to MSNBC.

For the hatchling possession charges, a third-degree felony, the men each face up to a $5,000 fine and five years behind bars. The Orlando Sentinel also reported one of the men identified himself as a "critter catcher."

Tragically, another Florida resident's recent encounter with an alligator ended with a partial leg amputation. Further north, police in Atlantic City, New Jersey discovered two alligators in the home of a suspected drug dealer last week. Click here for pictures of one of the world's largest crocodiles in captivity.

Photos and captions courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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