Ex-'Swamp People' cast member faces 18 wildlife charges

(KSLA) - A former member of The History's Channel's "Swamp People" cast is free on bond after being booked on 18 wildlife violations plus two drug charges.

Warden Joe Dewil Jr. confirmed May 9 that 42-year-old Roger A. Rivers Jr., of Noble, was booked into Sabine Parish Detention Center on May 5 and released on $10,030 bond the same date, .

He is charged with:

• 6 counts of selling alligator snapping turtle;
• 3 counts of selling reptile/amphibians without a collector's license;
• 3 counts of taking alligators without a license;
• 2 counts of failure to tag an alligator;
• 2 counts of selling fish caught recreationally;
• 2 counts of marijuana possession;
• 1 count of selling alligator meat illegally; and,
• 1 count of selling deer meat.

Details of his arrest were not immediately available.

Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Department officials can neither confirm nor deny their involvement in the investigation that led to Rivers' arrest, a spokesman said.

In 2015, Rivers told KSLA News 12 that he helped catch an alligator in Toledo Bend Reservoir on Sept. 5 of that year that measured 14 feet, 1 inch.

Rivers, who was born and raised on the man-made lake, said he has pulled 12- and 13-foot alligators out of the waters shared by Louisiana and Texas.

He was a Swamper, or cast member, on Season 5 of "Swamp People."

The show's bio of him at the time read:

"Roger Rivers spends every day on the hunt for food for his family of five. Whether it's hogs, turtles or gators, Roger hunts them and never comes home empty-handed.

"However, Roger has one problem: an addiction to hunting big gators.  Every year is a quest for him to capture the biggest gators in the swamp. Last year, he was able to come home with a 14-foot monster that nearly took his life when it pulled him overboard."

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