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Alligator farm owner gives up after cold nightROCKPORT — Warren Lynch, ah alligator farm owner, after holding out in a reptile pit for more than 18 hours, surrendered to law officers at Ih30 a.m. today.Lynch had dashed onto an island in the middle of a large pond used to keep his alligators, after a sheriff’s deputy had gone to his small mobile home just south of Rockport to arrest him for violation of a felony probation. Lynch was on three years probation for marijuana possession,and had been charged Tuesday with another marijuana offense.Before Lynch gave up, a friend, Pete Havin of Houston, had driven a small station wagon through police lines, rammed the vehicle into a fence and then dashed out on the island to join him. Havin was dressed only in a thin sleeveless muscle shirt in the cold weather.Havin, with a sense for the dramatic, waved one of the canned drinks and yelled, It’s Gato-raide.”The pit was filled with more than 40 alligators reporting to range in size from 6 feet to 12 feet. Only a few, however, could be seen poking their snouts and eyes out of the water.Corpus Christi Attorney Albert Pena finally talked Lynch into leaving the island and the two came across a small bridge where~ltjimenezLynch and Havin were taken into custody by Aransas County sheriff's deputies. Pena had earliertalked with Lynch and then went into Rockport to try to make some arrangements.Lynch had been without food or water up until the time Havin dashed onto the island with the food.Officers had spent the night keeping vigil on the little island lighting the scene with large fiood-lamps. Only a few small palm trees provided Lynch with any protection from the cold, biting wind. Lynch had gone to the island with only pants and a shirt and shoes for protection, but the weather had been mild yesterday afternoon, A cold front moved in in the early morning hours and officers allowed a girl friend to take him a jacket, but even with that. Lynch told reporters about midmorning that he was very cold.Lynch told reporters that he was concerned about the wasteSee LYNCH, Page 16A(Photo by Peter Silva) Alligator, named Igor, helped Lynch (right), friend at siege
Newspaper Details
Corpus Christi Times
Corpus Christi, Texas, US
Fri, Feb 06, 1976
Page 27
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 08 Apr 2020
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