A Florida judge has ordered three years of probation for Jacob Latreille, the final ringleader in a multi-night poaching operation that left 13 alligators dead or dying along the St. Johns River.
In a Titusville courtroom on May 14, Latreille walked away from a potential prison sentence after withdrawing a guilty plea and instead entering a plea of nolo contendere to 14 felony counts of illegally killing, possessing, or capturing alligators.
The sentence handed down by Judge Clarissa Harrell requires Latreille to serve 36 months of probation for each count concurrently. While his hunting and fishing rights are stripped for the next three years and he faces various court costs, the lack of jail time has sparked a sharp rebuke from conservationists.
The case dates back to April 2025, when Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) investigators say Latreille used his airboat to lead three other men—Luke Landry, Wyatt Lowe, and Robert Martin—on three separate nighttime hunts near the Hatbill Park Boat Ramp in Brevard County. Investigators didn’t have to look far for evidence; they found it on Latreille’s own phone.
READ: Don’t Let Scales Scare You: Why Florida’s 1.3 Million Alligators Aren’t Your Biggest Moving Worry
Cellphone videos documented the group “throwing” seven alligators into a front hatch compartment on a single night. Officers noted that in the footage, some of the reptiles stored on ice appeared to still be alive while others were already dead.
None of the men possessed the state permits or federal CITES tags required to legally harvest alligators. Latreille was originally arrested in September and hit with 13 third-degree felonies, which could have carried a maximum of five years in prison per charge.
The sentencing follows similar outcomes for his co-defendants. Earlier this spring, Robert Martin and Wyatt Lowe were both handed 18 months of supervised probation and fines of $750 after entering their own nolo contendere pleas. The case against the fourth man, Luke Landry, remains open.
The perceived leniency of the court has drawn the ire of In Defense of Animals (IDA). The group delivered a petition to Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Denick signed by 8,904 people calling for the maximum penalties possible.
“Wildlife advocates and enforcement officials recognize that light sentencing when individuals intentionally disregard conservation laws and engage in large-scale poaching is not a deterrent,” said Doll Stanley, Senior Campaigner for IDA’s Justice for Animals. “Get tough laws and community awareness is key in protecting wildlife. However, the sentencing handed down does not reflect the serious sentencing the public would expect in this case.”
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