Florida Man Killed by Alligator when he Jumps in the Water to Hide Out from the Cops

Matthew Riggins

Another day… another criminal reaps his own downfall.  Last month in Florida, Matthew Riggins was killed fleeing from cops investigating a burglary in Brevard County. His body was found floating in the Barefoot Bay Lake approximately 10 days later. An 11-foot alligator was found near his body… it was euthanized, and examination of its stomach revealed that it had caused Mr. Riggins’ demise.

Riggins’ Missing Poster

It goes without saying that crime doesn’t pay. Riggins and an accomplice were spotted trying to break into a house (he also contacted his girlfriend before and during his attempted burglary and escape). Many times, the flight from the crime exacerbates the problem, often worse than the crime itself. Just a few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled: “Don’t Jump in the River When the Cops are Looking for You.” While that guy had to be rescued by law enforcement, it certainly can get a lot worse, as Mr. Riggins found out the hard way.

The inherently dangerous nature of criminal activity and flight from law enforcement raises the likelihood of harm occurring during the crime. See, for instance, the clowns in Garcia v. State, two of which killed themselves in the course of a robbery. The stakes are higher in Florida, not only due to the canals and other waterways that are so prevalent, but also for the nasty critters that hang out there. This is the second criminal to be killed by an alligator that we are aware of, and a third survived an attack just a couple years ago. In fact, there have been only 3 deaths caused by alligators in Florida since the start of 2007… and 2 of them were wanted men fleeing the scene of the crime. Don’t break the law, and don’t jump in alligator infested waters to try to get away!

 

It Happened! DUI on a Motorized Wheelchair

Ronny HIcks

Ronny Hicks, a man from Palm Bay, Florida, was arrested this week and charged with driving under the influence… while he was riding on an electric wheelchair. We have covered a lot of Weird DUI cases here on Crimcourts, from the guy in Scotland on a bouncy ball, to a man not long ago in Punta Gorda who got a DUI on a lawnmower… but this may take the cake. I personally worked on a case for a DUI on a tricycle, a few years back, and this tops it. (EDIT: No, the wheelchair coes not need to be motorized under Florida law.)

The problem with the charge is that the wheelchair is a necessary device for the man to get around. If he can’t be drunk on it… he can’t be drunk. It is a hard case to convince a jury to convict on. However, the incident happened in public, and he was apparently obstructing other people with his vehicle. Basically, any device on wheels is a vehicle under Florida law, and subject to DUI sanctions. Because this is his third offense, he could potentially be facing felony charges.

Also, hope he gets that head wound treated, though he apparently refused treatment at the time of arrest. Read about more WeirdDui cases here.