FWC officers track down Miami-Dade man who police say cut off an alligator’s tail
A Miami Lakes man is accused of killing an alligator in mainland Monroe County over the weekend and driving off with its severed tail.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers received a tip Saturday that a man killed an alligator on Loop Road, cut off the tail and dumped the reptile’s carcass.
The man then drove east on U.S. 41 toward Miami-Dade County, according to an FWC arrest report.
FWC and Miami Springs officers worked with Collier County deputies and determined the man who killed the gator is Vincent Edward Quinn, 38, who lives in Miami Lakes, said FWC spokeswoman Arielle Calender.
Two FWC officers questioned Quinn, who told them he killed a gator but said it was not at the house, but rather at a nearby “halfway house,” where he stays, the report states.
Eventually, however, he admitted the gator’s tail was on a table in his backyard, officers say. According to the report, when the officers found the reptile’s upper body, its head had “significant blunt-force trauma.”
As of Wednesday, Quinn was being held in Monroe County jail on one felony count of illegally killing, possessing or capturing an alligator or alligator eggs, misdemeanor unlawful sale, possession or transportation of an alligator or alligator skins, misdemeanor taking of a gator without a tag and misdemeanor animal cruelty. A judge set his bond at $70,000, jail records show.
Information about his legal representation was not immediately available.
The gator was also killed outside of hunting season, which runs from Aug. 15 to Nov. 8, according to the FWC. Gator hunters must be permitted through the state.
According to Miami-Dade County court records, Quinn has several arrests dating back to February 2007, when he was charged with second-degree murder and armed burglary, which were eventually dropped.
His most recent arrest was June 2022, when he was arrested on felony drug possession, for which he was sentenced to probation, according to court records.
The tip about the dead gator came in through the FWC’s hotline, 888-404-3922. The agency asks people who witness similar violations to call the number.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM with the headline "FWC officers track down Miami-Dade man who police say cut off an alligator’s tail."
