PROVIDENCE JOURNAL (Rhode Island) 20 July 07 Man charged after giving snake to police (Paul Davis)
North Kingstown: A West Warwick man who tried to pawn his boa constrictor off on the police faces two misdemeanor charges for allegedly lying to officers.
You might say he’s been snakebit.
Michael A. Medeiros, of 127 Gough Ave., was arrested Tuesday night for abandoning his 6-foot-long boa constrictor at the Post Road police station.
According to the police, Medeiros appeared at the station Monday and said he found the snake — native to Mexico and South America — slithering along Ten Rod Road shortly after 10 p.m.
But the police — after baby-sitting the snake overnight — on Tuesday discovered Medeiros had tried to sell the same snake to a local pet store the day before.
The store declined to buy the snake, and Medeiros bought a smaller snake, a python, instead, Capt. Charles Brennan said yesterday.
After talking to workers at Critter Hut Aquarium & Pets in North Kingstown, a police officer later questioned Medeiros, who admitted he owned the snake but could no longer care for it because it was too big, Brennan said. “He ended up buying a second snake and abandoning the first one — on us,” Brennan said.
Medeiros, also charged with obstructing a police officer, is scheduled to appear in Washington County District Court on July 31.
The abandoned boa, which spent the night in a police lieutenant’s office, is now on display in a large cement and glass cage at Regal Reptiles, a reptile exhibit in Providence.
The snake, however, yesterday showed little interest in its mid-afternoon snack — a frozen rat.
“It has a respiratory infection,” said Shawn Fay, an owner of the exhibit. “We’ll ask our vet to look at it. It may need a shot.”
Man charged after giving snake to police
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RI Press: Charged after giving snake up
Replies (6)
What a tool! That is just plain stupidity.
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www.bahreptiles.bravehost.com
This guy now has a python that he'll be raising improperly and abandoning in the next few years...
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Jonathan Brady
"Sarcasm is angers ugly cousin" -Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) in "Anger Management".
Then a wife and kids and then what .......?
Ditto on the TOOL !
Tnk
>>This guy now has a python that he'll be raising improperly and abandoning in the next few years...
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>>Jonathan Brady
>>"Sarcasm is angers ugly cousin" -Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) in "Anger Management".
That was my first reaction too. Other than making the $50-60 on the sale of the python would the pet store sell him another snake? Why a potentially bigger snake? The new one is either a Ball Python or a Burmese Python. Hmmmmmm....a picky eater or a monster. This guy will either starve the Ball or abandon the Burmese within a few years. NICE JOB!! Critter Hut Aquarium & Pets.
Sorry to the responsible pet store owners out there, most of the stores I have ever been to have uneducated employees and owners that don't care about the well being of their animals.
When we hear about adondoned snakes, we hear about the irresponsible owners, not the irresponsible pet store that sold them the snake. Its amazing how little blame is placed on the originators of the problem. Its all about the dollar.
I know there are good pet stores out there, ones that will provide good info before, during and after the sale but as stated over and over again, there are way too many pet stores and even individuals in the business where the almighty dollar is the driving factor. All the stores in my immediate area that I have been in to all suck when it comes to reptiles. They carry a few, all crowded, all not well cared for, all not looking so healthy. I am fortunate to live within driving distance of EBV and that's a whole other story. Kind of a meca one has to visit from time to time.
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Thanks,
Dave Colling
www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
24.36 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders 
lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats 
is that people reading this story will be discouraged from making even minimal attempts at finding their unwanted animals a home. Instead they'll do the safe thing and dump them in the woods.
