A reported assault in Maryland led deputies to a startling find after they arrested a landlord accused of threatening tenants with a gun and later discovered an alligator, a caiman, a snake, an emu and six handguns on the property, officials said.
Sir Leander Evans Gamble, 57, of Waldorf, was taken into custody on July 3 after Charles County deputies were called to a property on Penjack Place for an alleged assault involving a firearm, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said Gamble confronted three people who were renting a trailer on his property, physically attacked them and then went back to his home to get a handgun. Investigators allege he aimed the gun at the victims and threatened to hurt them before deputies arrested him at the scene.
Sir Leander Evans Gamble, 57, of Waldorf, Maryland, was charged with aggravated assault. (Charles County Sheriff’s Office)
The victims were identified as a woman, her 28-year-old son and the son’s girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant when the incident occurred, FOX5 DC reported. The woman told the outlet the encounter left her traumatized and under significant financial pressure.
Deputies later served a search warrant at Gamble’s home, where they seized six handguns, the sheriff’s office said.
An alligator, like the one pictured above, was found during the investigation, according to authorities. (iStock)
The case expanded further when Charles County Animal Control officers arrived and found several animals allegedly kept in poor conditions, including an alligator, a caiman, a snake, an emu, dogs, cats and pigs.
“Charles County Animal Control officers determined the animals were being kept in conditions that did not comply with Maryland animal cruelty statutes,” Jennifer L. Harris, chief of media services for the Charles County Government, said in a statement to the outlet.
All the animals were removed from the property, Harris said, adding that Animal Control’s investigation into their welfare remains active.
An emu, like the one pictured above, was found at the property during the investigation, authorities said. (Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union via Reuters, File)
The renters also alleged that a dog named Carter died after Gamble failed to provide air conditioning in the trailer, according to FOX 5. Animal Control has not confirmed the dog’s cause of death.
Gamble was charged with aggravated assault, and authorities said additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues. He was being held without bond at the Charles County Detention Center.
