Alaska State Troopers say two brothers got into a fight in Wasilla on Wednesday and tossed each other’s unusual pets into the snow: an alligator and a crocodile.
The alligator was rescued. The crocodile was never found, and troopers believe it died of exposure.
Court records show Rickey Lowe, 30, and Tyler Lowe, 33, charged in the case.
According to a trooper report, just after 7 p.m. Wednesday troopers received a report of a disturbance from Rickey Lowe at an apartment on Caryshea Street. After speaking with both him and Tyler, troopers learned that the brothers had “an argument which resulted in a physical altercation.”
“Following the altercation, the 33-year-old brother threw the complainant’s pet alligator outside into the snow,” troopers wrote. “The complainant then proceeded to throw the 33-year-old brother’s pet crocodile outside into the snow as well before leaving the scene with his two-year-old child.”
According to charging documents against the men, a trooper who spoke with Tyler at the apartment found him slurring words and smelling strongly of alcohol while he looked for his $2,000 crocodile.
“He stated they had been arguing over an anime cartoon and they got into a shoving match,” troopers said in the charges. “He said there was no injury, but he was angry and threw Rickey’s pet alligator (valued at $1,500) outside. When he threw Rickey’s alligator outside, Rickey proceeded to throw his crocodile outside. The temperature was approximately 30 degrees, there was snow and ice on the ground, and both brothers knew it was too cold for the reptiles to survive outside.”
Troopers searched outside for over an hour, finding the alligator behind landscaping rocks. Despite the use of flashlights and thermal devices, the crocodile was not located.
Another trooper spoke with Rickey, who had driven several miles from the apartment with the child after the encounter. Troopers said Rickey had scratches on his head when he was found. He also allegedly provided a breath sample with nearly twice Alaska’s legal limit of alcohol for driving, and admitted to throwing the crocodile outdoors.
“He admitted to knowing it would die as a result of the cold, and AST was unable to locate the crocodile, meaning it has died of cold exposure,” troopers wrote in the charges.
Troopers said both men were arrested for cruelty to animals, with Rickey also charged with DUI and endangering the welfare of a child. Tyler was also charged with fourth-degree assault.
Both men were remanded at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
