STANDARD-EXAMINER (Ogden, Utah) 24 October 13 Man housing illegal snakes appears in Clearfield court (Loretta Park)
Clearfield: The man who had a gaboon viper in his home has been charged.
Brody Alan Rigby, 27, appeared in Clearfield Justice Court for his first court hearing on Wednesday before Judge John L. Sandberg.
He was booked and released from the Davis County Jail, also on Wednesday.
Rigby was charged in September with two counts of wanton destruction of protected wildlife and four counts of importation of protected wildlife, all Class B misdemeanors.
Even though no snakes were injured in the fire that happened on July 26, Rigby was charged with the first two counts because he had "taken and possessed the snakes in a reckless behavior," said Phil Douglass, conservation outreach manager for the Division of Wildlife Resources.
Another hearing is set for 8 a.m. on Nov. 26 in Clearfield Justice Court.
North Davis Fire District firefighters found more than 30 snakes in various aquariums, including the gaboon viper and five rattlesnakes, on July 26 when they responded to a 911 call about smoke coming out of a duplex in Clearfield.
Davis Animal Control and DWR officers were called to the scene to investigate the snakes.
The gaboon viper and five rattlesnakes are illegal to own without a permit because they are venomous, officers said. The remaining snakes, which were pythons and boas, are legal to own and can be bought at any pet store. None of the snakes were harmed by the fire, which started on the kitchen stove.
Officers called Jim Dix, owner of Reptile Rescue Inc., to assist officers in removing the six snakes.
Officers said Rigby had told them he had bought the viper from an Internet site.
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