Palm Bay, FL – A 22-year-old man reportedly out to burglarize a few homes in Brevard County found out the hard way that crime doesn't pay.

According to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, a burglary suspect they were actively looking for on Nov. 13 realized deputies were hot on his trail and chose to hide near Barefoot Bay lake. That decision proved fatal. 16 Insanely Popular Amazon Holiday Deals While hiding near the water, it seems the burglary suspect, identified as Matthew Riggins, ran afoul of an 11-foot alligator. Seeing easy prey, the gator attacked.

Riggins, the sheriff's office said, drowned as a result of that attack. His body, however, wasn't found until 10 days after the initial burglary call came in. The incident that led up to Riggins' death began to unfold in the late evening hours of Nov. 12. Riggins, the sheriff's office wrote in a media release, told his girlfriend he and another man planned to go to Barefoot Bay that night to "commit burglaries."

It was around 2 a.m. Nov. 13 when the sheriff's office was called out to investigate two suspicious men in that area. The men, deputies were told, were dressed in all black and were seen walking behind homes in the area.

Deputies caught up with the two men on Royal Palm Boulevard, but the suspects fled. While K9 and aviation units were called out, deputies did not catch their suspects that evening.

"It was later learned that Riggins had contacted his girlfriend during the timeframe of the search, advising that they were being chased by deputies," the media release stated. "Riggins was reported as a missing person to the Palm Bay Police Department later that day when he did not return home." Riggins remained missing until Nov. 23 when his body was spotted in the lake. The sheriff's dive team was called in for the retrieval. Its members also spotted that 11-foot gator and noted it was a rather aggressive one.