Being a fast-food worker is already a tough job, and that’s without a customer tossing an alligator at you through the drive-thru window. According to Fox News, surveillance-video footage was released late last week showing that Joshua James, a resident of Jupiter, Florida, really did throw the reptile into the drive-thru window of a Wendy’s after ordering a drink at 1:30am. As the female cashier turns to get James his change, he chucked the alligator—which happened to be three-and-a-half feet long —and quickly drove away. There is no word on whether or not he shouted “later, gator” before speeding off.

The cashier is shown to be laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation at first, but soon “gets spooked and moves to the ledge of the drive-thru window,” before quickly climbing out. Can you blame her? After all, her new co-worker is a literal alligator.

James, who says it was just a prank, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, illegal possession of an alligator, and petty theft. James is also banned from all Wendy’s restaurants and is not allowed to come into contact with any animals except for the family dog (assuming he doesn’t chuck Fido through a Taco Bell window anytime soon).

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James told WPTV that he is “sorry for what he did” and that it all boiled down to him “being stupid and not thinking.” He says he is an outdoors person and anything that he finds, he just catches: “We just saw an alligator and caught it and were handling it and like I said, ideas start popping and one thing lead to another.” Sure, err, okay. He is due back in court for his sentencing in May.

The real question is, why did James waste his alligator catch on an ill-conceived “prank” when it could have turn it into a crazy feast? He should have taken a page out of Australia’s book and wrapped the gator from neck to tail in bacon, stuffed its mouth with a roast chicken, and put the entire Frankenstein-like creation on the grill.

[via Fox News]