Florida man allegedly shoots at alligator with rifle while illegally dumping tires

Stream FOX 35 News:

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Orlando man was arrested after he was caught illegally dumping tires on private property – and allegedly shot at an alligator with a rifle that he claimed was going to attack him while doing so, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

Arisleyder Reina-Tornes, 40, is facing several criminal charges regarding an incident that was first put on FWC officers' radars on March 17, according to an incident report. 

On that day, FWC officers visited an area of private property on Boggy Creek Road and East Wetherbee Road in Orlando. This area had a fence around it and a "no trespassing" sign at the entrance. The gate, however, was open – and about a thousand tires were found in the area. 

Arisleyder Reina-Tornes (Photo: Orange County Corrections Department)

Just over two weeks later, officers responded and positioned themselves at a good vantage point to see who was arriving and dumping tires. That's when they spotted Reina-Torres' vehicle enter the property. 

He allegedly aimed a rifle outside the window and started firing shots toward the water, according to the report. He then got out of his minivan and continued to open fire. When he put the rifle away, he went to the back of his trunk and began to unload tires. 

Florida man pulled over with live alligator hidden in trunk, FWC says

Officers approached Reina-Tornes, conducted a traffic stop and took him into custody. 

In a post-Miranda interview, Reina-Tornes told officers that he was shooting at the alligator "because it was going to attack him," the report said. 

"Mr. Reina-Tornes was still in his vehicle when he was first shooting at it, and the alligator never made any threatening movements toward him, and when we approached the alligator, it never approached us<" the report said. "Mr. Reina Torres was caught in several lies, even admitting to us that he had lied, and it appeared most of what he was telling us was untruthful, so we decided to no longer continue our interview."

He was placed under arrest for the following charges and was booked into the Orange County Jail:

• Littering exceeding 100 cubic feet or 500 points for commercial purposes
• No alligator trapping agent's license
• No motor vehicle registration
• Possession of open container or alcohol in motor vehicle

Florida man busted with 5 alligators in his bathtub that he caught at nearby pond, FWC says

The State Attorney's Office is also filing additional charges:

• Trespassing
• Attaching tag (license plate) not assigned

The Department of Environmental Protection is also seeking to charge additional violations from their own investigation.

Further investigation revealed that Reina-Tornes was never allowed on the property and was never given permission to dump tires. Officers said they have reason to believe Reina-Tornes was working with a tire shop.