Man pleads guilty to having tiger for a flatmate

A New York man wept after pleading guilty to the charge of "reckless endangerment" after keeping a Bengal tiger in his flat.

10:44 22 July 2004

A New York man wept after pleading guilty to the charge of "reckless endangerment" after keeping a Bengal tiger in his flat.

Antoine Yates, a part-time taxi driver, appeared in court after a 400lb tiger and an alligator were found at his home last October.

He pleaded guilty just as a jury was being selected and will return for sentencing on September 16th.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Budd Goodman suggested Yates will receive no more than six months in jail for the offence, after he and his mother were originally threatened with seven years each.

The discovery of the two-year-old tiger called Ming was made after Yates went to a Philadelphia hospital for treatment on a large bite to his leg.

Ming was taken to a refuge in Ohio while the alligator is being looked after in Indiana, but Yates vowed to be reunited with his pets and suggested he may set up a wildlife sanctuary.

"I never thought I put the public in harm's way," he said after the hearing.

"If I have to do six months I will do it but I will be back. I'm going to try to get Ming back."

Yates remains free until his sentencing.