Alligator Found In Atlantic City Pool During Drug Bust

Police found a 3-foot-long alligator in a New Jersey pool on Tuesday during a big drug bust, according to authorities.

The Animal Control of South Jersey was notified, and the alligator was safely removed from the Bayview Inn & Suites on Albany Avenue in Atlantic City before it was transported to the Cape May County Zoo, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

An Egg Harbor Township man, meanwhile, was charged during the bust in connection with a 2016 drug-induced death, as well as being the leader of a narcotics trafficking network, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.

Jamal Campos, 25, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with first-degree strict-liability homicide drug-induced death. He was also charged with possession with intent to distribute 100 wax folds of heroin and third-degree possession of heroin, according to the ACPO.

Investigators were led to Campos following an investigation into the overdose death of Adam O’Gara on April 22, 2016 in Egg Harbor Township.

Early Tuesday morning, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office detectives, along with law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, searched 80 rooms at the Bayview Inn & Suites that was heavily damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, according to the ACPO

Cash, narcotics and air soft guns were recovered during the execution of a search warrant.

A total of 33 people who were living at the property were removed, including men, women and children.
Seven dogs were recovered from the property and one pit bull dog was fatally shot by an Atlantic City police officer when the animal made an aggressive move toward the officers as they attempted to enter a room, according to the ACPO.

The alligator was then found in the pool.

These individuals were also arrested on unrelated warrants Tuesday morning:

• Tariq Heard, 27, of Atlantic City
• Chinaisy Rodriguez, 25, of Atlantic City
• Gazelle Williams, 40, of Atlantic City
• Jonathon Frith, 25, Atlantic City
• Ravil Magianov, 59, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Bashaun Whitted, 25, of Atlantic City

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Atlantic County SWAT, Atlantic City Police Department and SWAT, Atlantic County Sherriff’s Office and many others.

Atlantic City police photo