Apr 6, 2006 7:29 am US/Pacific
Reggie's Releaser Gets Probation
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
One of Reggie's accused releasers has been sentenced Wednesday to three years probations and 45 days Caltrans work.
Anthony Brewer, 36, pleaded no contest to a violation of the state Fish and Game Code for releasing the alligator, who has come to be known as Reggie, ino Lake Machado at Harbor Regional Park last summer, according to the City Attorney's Office.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Robert Kawahara imposed the sentence and also scheduled a restitution hearing in May to discuss city-incurred costs associated with keeping people away from the lake and trying to capture Reggie, who remains at large.
The city's Department of Parks and Recreation has incurred more than $155,000 in costs relating to increased security at the park since the alligator was discovered last August, according to the City Attorney's Office.
A second man, former Los Angeles police Officer Todd Natow, 42, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday. Natow, who served with the LAPD from 1984 to 2001 and resigned after a second DUI arrest, is accused of 14 misdemeanor counts related to Reggie's release.
Natow and Brewer were arrested last August after authorities served search warrants at their homes. The pair was charged Dec. 29.
Authorities say Brewer owned the alligator and gave it to Natow. Natow put Reggie in Lake Machado when he became too big for a backyard pond.
State law forbids possessing or transporting live alligators for private pet ownership, according to the City Attorney's Office.
Reggie was last seen in Lake Machado last October and has eluded several attempts to capture him. Efforts to catch Reggie were suspended during the winter months, when the cold-blooded reptile is expected to lay low.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
