Posted 7/18/2004 03:29:00 PM by Douglas

The cops on TV always ask if you have weapons on you when they slap the cuff on. So now I guess you're going to have to include that concealed alligator you've got in your pocket.

PORT ORANGE, Fla. - A man hit his girlfriend with a 3-foot alligator and threw beer bottles at her during an argument in the couple's mobile home, authorities said.

David Havenner, 41, was ordered held without bond Saturday on misdemeanor charges of battery and possession of an alligator.

The alligator, which Havenner had been keeping in his bathtub, was turned over to Florida wildlife officials.

Nancy Monico, 39, told investigators that Havenner beat her with his fists, then grabbed the alligator and swung it at her as she tried to escape, sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. She said the animal hit her at least once. She also told authorities that Havenner threw empty beer bottles at her, Davidson said.

Havenner's version of the story differed. He told investigators that Monico bit his hand because she was upset that they had run out of alcohol.

Pretty funny, really, but there are three things about this story that aren't all that surprising:

1. It happened in Florida
2. It happened in a trailer house
3. Alcohol was involved