Picture this: a pole dancer (with pole), a pot growing operation, two alligators and a failed driveway ambush. Just another day on the job for the Thurston County (Washington) Sheriff’s Department. According to seattletimes.com, “Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Greg Elwin said that at one point a detective compared the scene to a Hollywood film.” When the lucky LEOs responded to a report of shots fired at a home south of Olympia, they came upon the whole Fellini-esque scene . . .
Investigators were greeted by a 41-year-old man who lives at the home. The man said he had opened fire in self-defense after someone tried to run him over outside his home, Elwin said.
Except that’s not really what happened. But given probable cause, the deputies searched the joint. And that’s when things got interesting.
While inside the home, investigators found a floor to ceiling brass pole and talked to an exotic dancer, Elwin said. When detectives tried to walk into another room they were met by two five-foot long alligators hissing at them from the floor.
“They were there for protection for the marijuana grow area. They were just crawling around on the floor,” Elwin said. The detectives immediately shut the door.
Good move, boys. But the man of the house was pretty accommodating as far as wrangling the reptiles was concerned.
The 41-year-old suspect, who was arrested for investigation of attempted murder, offered to help the detectives corral his gators. He managed to get them into a nearby bathroom where they were left in the water-filled bathtub. Because it wasn’t clear how long the alligators would be there, they were left with some raw chicken parts to gnaw on, Elwin said.
At least the two ganja guardians will have something to satisfy their inevitable case of the munchies. Never a dull day on the force, huh?
