Florida woman found in alligator’s jaws was arrested for trespassing two months ago
The woman whose lifeless body was found clenched in a 14-foot alligator’s jaws was arrested just two months earlier for trespassing on county wetland property.
Sabrina Peckham, 41, was identified by police Saturday as the victim being dragged by the beast in a canal along a residential street in Largo, a small community four miles south of Clearwater.
The homeless woman was caught by Pinellas County deputies around 6:30 a.m. July 14 for trespassing on county wetland just half a mile from where she was found dead Friday, court records show.
Peckham ignored posted signage warning against unlawful entry.
After pleading no contest to the misdemeanor, she was released by the county Sept. 8 and was fined $500.
It is not clear where the transient woman went in the two weeks before she was discovered dead in the waterway.
Records show she had a history of run-ins with police dating back to 2014, including multiple charges for trespassing.
Peckham also had multiple drug and theft convictions lodged against her.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether Peckham was killed by the gator.
A witness on his way to a job interview was the first to spot the 13-foot, 8.5-inch male alligator carrying her body and rushed to alert the nearby fire department.
Authorities “humanely killed” the massive reptile, though neighbors said responders yanked it from the water and shot it several times.
The area is near the popular Ridgecrest Park, which includes a 5-acre lake known to house alligators.
The gators routinely wander the neighborhood, according to neighbors, but the one killed Friday was one of the biggest some had ever encountered.
