Story Archive

By Hook or By Crook

Jesse Kinsinger, 21, got into a fight with his mother at her home in Lakeland, Fla. “It got to the point where she was like, ‘I’m just going to have to call the cops’,” says his brother-in-law, Mike Taylor. “He’s like, ‘No, I don’t want cops called. I don’t want to go to jail.’ So he ran.” He chose the wrong place to run: there’s a lake behind her apartment building that Kinsinger jumped into to swim away from the police. A sign warns of the danger: “Caution! Alligators frequent this area!” Kinsinger was found lying on the ground near the lake — with most of his left forearm missing. The gator “took my arm with it and I was able to kick it in the snout,” Kinsinger said. Police did not levy any charges against him. (RC/WTVT Tampa) ...The infernal tick-tock coming from the gator’s stomach is punishment enough.