PLAISTOW – A Plaistow man is accused of sneaking off with a rare ball python worth $15,000 from a local reptile store by stuffing it into his pocket and then selling it to a competing store.
Joshua Rogoff, 28, faces a felony theft charge after he allegedly took the 10-inch-long, black and white python from New England Reptile Distributors in Plaistow and sold it to CV Exotics in East Hampstead.
Ryan Caron, general manager of New England Reptile Distributors, described the acanthi killer bee ball python as extremely rare because of its unusual color and pattern.
This rare black and white ball python was allegedly stolen from New England Reptile Distributors in Plaistow and resold to CV Exotics in East Hampstead. (JASON SCHREIBER)
The Plaistow store has a large collection of mutated ball pythons created through selective breeding. Only four of this particular python exist, Caron said. They were all bred at the Plaistow facility.
"It looks nothing like a normal ball python," Caron said.
Police began their hunt for the accused python pilferer Sunday night when New England Reptile Distributors reported the snake stolen.
Plaistow Detective Sgt. Patrick Caggiano said Rogoff -- a boyfriend of an employee at New England Reptile Distributors -- was caught on surveillance video stealing the snake on Aug. 23. Workers didn't report the snake stolen right away because it took time to review the video, Caron said.
After it was taken, police said, the snake was taken to CV Exotics and offered for sale to owner Scott Seavey.
Police obtained a search warrant Monday and found the python at the East Hampstead store, according to Hampstead Detective Bob Kelley.
The python was returned to New England Reptile Distributors and Rogoff was charged. Caggiano said Rogoff has been cooperative with police.
In an interview yesterday, Seavey said he didn't know that the snake was stolen when he bought it.
"I wouldn't have purchased it if I had known it was stolen. I didn't deliberately buy a stolen animal," he said, adding that he runs a legitimate business. He described it as similar to New England Reptile Distributors, but on a much smaller scale.
Seavey said he wasn't "100 percent sure" about the kind of python that he bought.
"I knew it was something different," he said.
Seavey, who refused to say how much he paid for the python, said he did not know Rogoff.
Kelley said Seavey told police that he paid $500 for the snake; Kevin McCurley, owner of New England Reptile Distributors, informed police that the snake is worth more like $15,000.
Meanwhile, Caggiano said police had to receive special permission from the Rockingham County Attorney's Office and the court to allow the snake to be returned and held at New England Reptile Distributors even though the python is evidence and the case remains under investigation by Hampstead and Plaistow police.
"There are no facilities for us to properly store and care for reptiles," he said.
This isn't the first time thieves have targeted New England Reptile Distributors. Other reptiles have been stolen over the years, including tortoises.
Caron said several other snakes have also disappeared over the last year.
"It's like anything else," Caggiano said. "If people want something bad enough, they'll steal it."
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