Alligator found in suburban home evicted after 26 years

LANSING, Ill. (AP) - A suburban Chicago man is scheduled to appear in court this week after authorities came to his house and took the alligator he kept there for 26 years into custody.

Charles Price was charged with a misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of an endangered species after the Illinois Department of Natural Resources removed the 200-pound alligator from his home earlier this month.

WLS-TV reports (http://abc7.ws/1JvxErC ) the alligator lived quietly in Price's basement until an appliance repairman working there spotted the 6-foot reptile in a cage and alerted Lansing animal control officers. Sgt. Bill Shannon of the IDNR's conservation police says that Price told authorities he got the alligator when it was a baby at a swap meet.

A call to Price's listed phone number was not answered on Sunday.

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Information from: WLS-TV.