A Garland man used an alligator as incentive to get a kidnapped man's family to pay a ransom, police say.

Isaias Jabez Garcia (Connecticut State Department of Correction)

Isaias Jabez Garcia, 30, pleaded not guilty this week to a slew of charges linked to the April incident: kidnapping, attempted larceny, unlawful restraint, assault and threatening.

Authorities in Connecticut say the victim's aunt alerted police after her 21-year-old nephew called her April 6, saying he'd been kidnapped and asking her to pay an $800 ransom.

"I was wondering if you were gonna send that money, 'cause I really want to go home," he said in a another call, the Connecticut Post reported.

The woman asked for a picture of her nephew so she knew he was OK.

The photo she got was of her nephew face-down in a bathtub. A 3-foot-long alligator — opening its mouth toward the camera — was on top of him.

"They got this alligator on me and they saying that if no money is given, they are gonna have him chewing on me," the victim pleaded in a subsequent call, the newspaper reported.

Authorities traced the calls to a Residence Inn in Shelton, Conn., about 60 miles northeast of New York City.

Police found Garcia's girlfriend — and the gator — in the hotel room. A short time later, they apprehended Garcia in the parking lot when he drove up with the victim.

The victim had burn marks on his face and arm, according to the Post, and he told officers Garcia had tied him up and burned him with a grill lighter.

The state's Department of Energy & Environmental Protection took custody of the gator.

"It is an outrageous case, but it is clear from the evidence that this young man's life was in danger," Bridgeport police Lt. Christopher LaMaine told the Post. "This was no joke."

Garcia remained in custody at the Bridgeport Correctional Center on Wednesday, with bail set at $250,000.