Police in Port St. Lucie, Florida, got an unexpected assist in catching an alleged car thief, when the suspect’s escape was cut short after he crashed into an alligator.

WPTV-TV reported that 22-year-old Calvin Rodriguez faces five counts of grand theft auto charges for various thefts from local supermarket parking lots.

Police said Rodriguez used “shaved” keys to gain access to the vehicles, and was attempting to evade them in a stolen Honda Civic when he ran into the alligator.

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The Smoking Gun reported that the suspect confessed to the thefts, saying he learned how to steal cars “by growing up in a tough town in Connecticut.” An accomplice told police that Rodriguez “steals cars, drives them for a few days, and gets rid of them.”

“It’s pretty unimaginable that police officers would be at that point in time looking for these suspects and that an alligator unfortunately just happens to cross the road and assist us in catching these criminals,” Det. Keith Boham was quoted as saying.

Watch WPTV’s report on Rodriguez’s run-in with the alligator, as aired on Thursday, below.

[Image: “Alligators,” via Shutterstock]