Updated: 6:14 p.m.
By Bay City News Service
Sheriff's deputies found 34 pounds of marijuana being guarded by an alligator during a probation compliance check in Castro Valley on Tuesday afternoon, an Alameda County sheriff's sergeant said today.
The dried, processed marijuana was found in a bedroom at a home in the 19000 block of Mt. Jasper Drive around 1:30 p.m., along with the live 5-foot-long alligator, which was living in a Plexiglas tank, sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.
The suspect, 32-year-old Assif Mayar, was booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on drug possession and sales charges, according to the sheriff's office.
Nelson said Mayar apparently acquired the alligator, named "Mr. Teeth," in 1996 to commemorate the death of rapper Tupac Shakur. It appears the animal was being used as a deterrent to scare away would-be marijuana thieves.
Mr. Teeth was taken to the Oakland Zoo, where zoo officials said he is being treated at the veterinary hospital.
Vets are accessing his health, as it appears he is fairly sick and likely stressed from the events in the past few days. After he's checked out he will be placed in quarantine, zoo officials said.
According to the zoo, Mr. Teeth may be a caiman, a reptile in the alligator family.
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