Man Caught Keeping Variety Of Snakes In NYC Apartment
POSTED: 10:16 p.m. EDT October 23, 2003
UPDATED: 10:48 p.m. EDT October 23, 2003
NEW YORK -- A dozen exotic snakes were found in a Manhattan apartment Thursday, and their owner was issued summonses, police said.
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Perisio Nunez, 35, was issued five summonses under the Environmental Conservation Law and New York City health code for possession of wild game and wild animals.
Authorities said that Nunez had the serpents in containers and a terrarium and that they were never a threat.
"They didn't pose a danger to anyone," said Detective Thomas Kuchma, a police department spokesman.
Police confiscated two green tree pythons, two gaboon vipers and four emerald tree boas, which were taken to the Bronx Zoo. An Amazon tree boa, two common boas and a yellow anaconda were sent to the Center for Animal Care and Control.
Nunez once was a licensed animal dealer and kept the snakes well, police said.
No crime was committed, but it was a violation of city housing rules for Nunez to keep the snakes in his Washington Heights apartment, police said.
The summonses mean Nunez will have to appear in court, where a judge will determine his punishment.
A telephone call to Nunez' home was not immediately returned.
Earlier this month, police found a tiger and an alligator in a Harlem apartment. Their owner was charged with reckless endangerment and possession of a wild animal. The animals were sent to sanctuaries.
