Intoxicated men took dead, flattened alligator off-roading

Three men are accused of stealing a 14-foot stuffed alligator from a Livingston County barn, strapping it to a pickup truck and going mud bogging with it. Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte credited the owner of the alligator, a Hartland man, 34, with tracking down the suspected thieves, questioning them, then alerting the sheriff’s department.

The alligator, valued at $5,000, was missing and the driveway gate was damaged when the owner visited the barn. He took photos of footprints and tire impressions, which led him a short distance where he saw three men mud bogging with an alligator strapped to a truck.

He took photos of the three men and the truck and even asked the men where they got the alligator, to which they replied from Florida, Bezotte said. The man then took the photos to the sheriff’s department. “He did a great job, he took photographs and got everything in order and called the police, sheriff’s department,” Bezotte said.

Roy A. Griffith, 60, of Linden; John E. Sanborn, 53, of Houghton Lake; and Douglas E. Ward, 55, of Harrison were arraigned and a preliminary exam has been set for July 29. Bezotte said the three men were intoxicated and Ward blew a 0.4 percent on a Breathalyzer. “Everybody thought it was cool until they got arrested,” Bezotte said. “They were beyond making intelligent decisions.”