Can't we all just huggle?
PORT ORANGE -- A 41-year-old man fighting with his girlfriend Friday morning grabbed the 3-foot alligator he was keeping in the bathtub and swung it at her, police said.
The gator hit Ormond Beach resident Nancy Monico, 39, in the right side, but neither she nor the gator was seriously hurt, said Brandon Haught, a spokesman for the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
It was unclear Friday why Monico's boyfriend, David Havenner, had the gator or how long he had it. According to a sheriff's report, Havenner told a deputy he found it lying in the road and decided to put it in his bathtub. He would not discuss why, Haught said.
Monico called the Sheriff's Office from the home of one of Havenner's neighbors on Guava Drive, just outside Port Orange, shortly before 10 a.m. and said the two had been arguing when Havenner began to hit her with his fists. Then she said he got the alligator from the bathroom of the master bedroom and began swinging it at her as she tried to escape, Haught said.
Haught said he did not know whether Havenner was holding the reptile by the head or the tail during the attack.
After the gator hit Monico, she told a deputy, Havenner threw empty beer bottles at her and shoved her out of the mobile home. (Ok, really, who did not see this coming?)
Havenner told a much different account when police arrived to investigate. He initially denied having an alligator, but he let the deputy in to the home to check, Haught said. After the investigator found the reptile, Havenner said that he did not hit Monico and that she had bit his hand because she was mad that they were out of alcohol, Haught said.
The alligator appeared to be fine and was turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Haught said.
Havenner, who records show has a criminal record that includes convictions for carrying a concealed firearm and burglary, was held without bail Friday night at the Volusia County Branch Jail on misdemeanor charges of battery and possession of an alligator.
Gary Davidson, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said the incident will add to Volusia's reputation as a place where odd things happen.
"This will be one more [Volusia] story that makes the national news," Davidson said. The agency has already been fielding calls this week from national news organizations after the burglary of a home was foiled with the help of a woman in Kentucky who saw the break-in live on the Internet thanks to a Web camera the Deltona resident had installed.
