JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Gray News) – Florida authorities found more than just illegal substances in a recent drug bust.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said they received a tip in March that a house on the Northwest side of Jacksonville was distributing drugs.
The sheriff office’s SWAT Team and Narcotics Unit alongside District 5 and 6 Task Force officers conducted a search on the house.
They found cocaine, oxycodone and marijuana along with a number of firearms.
The sheriff’s office said 49-year-old Marquis Williams was taken into custody and now faces felony charges related to the drugs and guns.
During the search, officers said they had noticed there were multiple dogs as well as dog-fighting equipment, trophies and books.
Animal control officers searched the property and said they found more items related to dog fighting.
The officers found multiple dogs kept in skyboxes and others chained. They said none of the canines had access to water and showed serious signs of neglect, including being covered in feces, fleas and infections.
Some of the dogs had open wounds. Others had wounds in the process of healing.
The officers found other animals in similar conditions on the property, including raccoons and turtles.
The sheriff’s office said the most shocking thing they found was a 9-foot alligator kept in a small, fenced area.
The alligator also had no access to water in its cage, and bones scattered on the ground suggested other animals were being fed to it.
An alligator wrangler came to remove the alligator from the property.
Williams faces a dozen charges for animal abuse, including illegally possessing an alligator and promoting dog fighting, both of which are felonies.
He is behind bars at the Duval County jail for putting lives at risk.
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