Florida Gators license plate leads cops to gator meat thief

Planning a heist of any kind requires careful thought about how to remain inconspicuous – both while filling your boots and during that all-important getaway.

Distinguishing features of any kind – whether on your person or vehicle – cry out to be concealed if you’re not overly fond of the slammer.

A brazen burglar in Florida appears to have overlooked such fundamentals, taking a car on the job with a novelty license plate depicting the very animal whose meat he intended to steal.

James Ellison, 30, was arrested at his home on Tuesday in connection with a burglary at Port Orange Seafood, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

The break-in, reported to police on April 30, saw someone make off with a gargantuan haul of premium produce from the store’s outdoor freezers, including gator tail meat, amberjack meat, tuna steaks and Alaskan king crab.

Cops found a fishily similar stash of purloined provisions in Ellison’s garage when they came to reel him in.

Detectives had quickly identified the Port Orange man as a suspect after contacting deputies in Volusia County, where he was arrested for a boat burglary in April.

Footage obtained during that prior investigation revealed two especially distinctive features: Ellison was driving a Hyundai with a Florida Gators front license plate and had his daughters’ names tattooed on his hand.

When police spotted the same specialty license plate and hand tattoo on video surveillance footage from the seafood store, they were in no doubt who their man was.

Ellison’s wife helped with the investigation, confirming her husband’s identity from the distinguishing marks.

She claimed he had stolen from the same store on several other occasions, and also had a penchant for pilfering firearms, fishing gear and lawn equipment, according to a police report.

Police executed a search warrant at Ellison’s home after discovering he had allegedly sold some of the stolen goods at pawn shops in Holly Hill.

Ellison was charged with two counts of armed burglary, and remained in jail Wednesday without bail.

Gloves and a new license plate may be on his latest wishlist.