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Florida man gets jail time for jumping into zoo’s crocodile exhibit

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The Associated Press

January 29, 2019 - 3:33 pm

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A man who jumped into a Florida zoo’s crocodile enclosure has been sentenced to a year in jail.

Court records show 23-year-old Brandon Keith Hatfield of Green Cove Springs pleaded no contest Friday to multiple charges, including trespassing and criminal mischief.

St. Augustine police said Hatfield broke into the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park on Nov. 5. According to an arrest report, Hatfield caused over $5,000 in damage at the 125-year-old attraction.

Police said Hatfield jumped into the water in the zoo’s Nile crocodile exhibit. Security video showed a crocodile biting Hatfield on the leg. He escaped, leaving blood and clothing behind him in the enclosure.

Hatfield was arrested the following day after a resident reported seeing him crawling in his underwear across a neighboring yard.

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