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NEWS JOURNAL (Wilmington, Delaware) 28 June 08 Officers find viper, other deadly snakes - Animal Planet fan spots three illegal reptiles on domestic dispute call (Ira Porter and Terri Sanginiti)
Who says watching TV is bad for you?
If it wasn't for being a fan of the Animal Planet and National Geographic networks, a New Castle County policeman might not have been able to recognize and alert fellow officers to three deadly snakes inside a Claymont apartment they entered.
The officers were responding Thursday evening to a domestic dispute reported by a woman who said her boyfriend pushed her. Police entering the Fieldcrest Apartments unit found not only the boyfriend but three glass tanks containing snakes.
The nature-show-loving officer identified the snakes as a Gaboon viper, a Venezuelan rattlesnake and a pygmy rattlesnake.
The Gaboon viper, he said, is one of the deadliest snakes in the world. It is found in Africa and can grow up to 5 feet long. Its 2-inch fangs release venom potent enough to cause death -- along with such unpleasant symptoms as swelling, severe pain, uncoordinated movement, defecation and urination.
A bite from a Venezuelan rattlesnake can cause progressive paralysis, complete blindness, respiratory paralysis and death. And the bite of the pygmy rattlesnake, a denizen of Florida, can cause pain, swelling and death.
"I wouldn't expect that you could find anything like that in the store," said John Wieder, a manager at Pet Village in Wilmington, which sells non-venomous snakes. "I've heard of people getting stuff like that over the Internet or through some other back channel."
Michelle Santiago, who also works at Pet Village and specializes in turtles, said she has seen people purchase poisonous snakes from reptile shows as well.
"Definitely at the reptile shows they allow that," Santiago said.
In Delaware, it is illegal to possess, sell or exhibit any poisonous snake not native to Delaware or found here. Pet owners also must get a permit before they can possess such a mammal or hybrid of a wild animal.
On Jan. 16, 2002, New Castle County Police found 42-year-old Ron Huff dead inside his Newark apartment with several of the Nile monitor lizards he collected on top of his body, which had been partially consumed.
A Gaboon viper bite was reported in Philadelphia in September 1997, and authorities responding to the scene of that bite found the 23-year-old bite victim had two other poisonous snakes in his home.
In Claymont on Thursday, police arrested the alleged owner of the snakes, 23-year-old Anthony Conway, on charges of menacing and offensive touching.
He also was charged with not having a permit for the exotic reptiles.
The Kent County SPCA retrieved Conway's snakes and destroyed them, Navarro said. Conway was released on $500 unsecured bail on the domestic charges.
Officers find viper, other deadly snakes

I saw this story on the news while I was at the gym on Friday. I was amused how the newscaster stated, matter of factly, at the end of the story that the "deadly snakes had all been destroyed". I met Anthony a few years ago because we had been talking about doing some business together but never did. His animals didn't seem very healthy, and I had read multiple things about him liking to rip people off. Apparently he was still living just a few miles from me. Guess karma's a [bleep]. Too bad the snakes had to pay for it the most.