Note: It's Against Law To Drop Gator In Convenience Store

LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL -- The mystery of how a 2-foot alligator found its way into a Lakewood Ranch Wawa store on June 15 has been solved.

On Tuesday, June 26, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office arrested a 17-year-old teen who admitted to finding the gator in the wild and dropping it off at the Wawa store at 14510 State Road 70 as a joke.

But the employees and customers who encountered the gator casually strolling down the snack aisle of the store weren't laughing. They promptly called deputies who summoned a certified Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper to catch the gator and return it to its natural habitat.

The sheriff's office noted that the gator was not injured during the incident.

Photo via FWC