TIMES NEWS (Kingsport, Tennessee) 02 February 08 Kingsport police still working to identify armed snake bandit, cash grabber (Kacie Dingus Breeding)
Kingsport: Kingsport police continue to look for ties between a gunman who took 13 snakes and cash from Pet Cove about 10 minutes after a man grabbed cash from the register at Mary's Kitchen Shop, which is owned by Pat and Mary Shull.
Police said the gunman tied up a lone employee in a backroom and made off with 13 snakes -- pythons, boas, and corn snakes in a cage -- and an undetermined amount of cash around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Police said the man had expressed interest in the snake displays during a visit to the store on Wednesday.
He is believed to be in his late 30s, approximately 5’6” to 5’8” tall, with a slender build and possibly with facial hair. He was wearing a black coat, possibly leather, and a baseball cap.
The suspect's vehicle is described as a dark gray Toyota pickup with an extended cab, camper top and eight ball on the radio antenna. Police say his name might be Rick, and that he told the clerk he is from Florida.
Repeated calls to Pet Cove, 820 E. Center Street, were met with a busy signal Friday afternoon, but Kingsport police said the employee will be looking at composite photos in an effort to positively identify him.
Police said Friday they're still working on an answer to whether the two robberies were committed by the same man, two men working together or two completely unrelated individuals.
Mary Shull has also been asked to look at some composite photos in an effort to identify the man who entered Mary's Kitchen Shop, 213 E. Center Street, about 10 minutes before the snakes and cash were taken from Pet Cove, Pat Shull said in a phone interview Friday.
His wife told investigators Thursday that the man didn't produce a weapon. But she described a veiled threat in the way he spoke when he said, "'Just open the register; I just need money. I hate to do this, but I need money.'"
She opened the register for him and he made off with about $140 in cash.
"We processed the scene for prints on anything he might have touched," Det. Kevin Tincher said of the robbery at Mary's Kitchen Shop. "We’re checking the area, talking to other people, other businesses. We’re checking for cameras that might have captured him in the area."
Police have described that suspect as a white male, about 5’10” tall and of slender build. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a green zip-up jacket, blue jeans and a black knit cap.
Anyone with information on either incident should contact the Kingsport Police Department at 246-9111 or CID- 229-9429.
Kingsport police still working to identify armed snake bandit, cash grabber