Claim of wrangled gator in LA is dismissed

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- On Tuesday, authorities dismissed a claim that a wrangler had nabbed a 7-foot-long alligator named "Reggie" from a city lake, where he had been dumped several months ago and repeatedly avoided capture.
Earlier Tuesday, a man claiming to be wrangler Jay Young, who had been hired by the city, told media outlets, including The Associated Press, that he had caught the alligator overnight.
That story was cast into doubt when the promised delivery of the alligator to the Los Angeles Zoo never happened.
Reached by phone at his Colorado gator farm later Tuesday, Young said he has not been in Los Angeles recently and that he hadn't called the media earlier in the day. He said the caller apparently was someone impersonating him.
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