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Happy Thanksgiving Harold.
MORNING CALL (Allentown, Pennsylvania) 24 October 08 Venomous reptiles in Lehighton are skin-crawling discovery - 160 snakes had been abandoned in store. Many found ill, dead. (John J. Moser)
Lehighton police and animal rescue officers have confiscated 160 snakes, many venomous and dangerous, from a downtown exotic pet store whose owner left them ill and dying -- and unsecured -- in the closed store for months, officials say.
The July 22 seizure at Serpent's Den, which operated at 114 S. First St., was the largest known reptile seizure in the state, said Jack Ardey, an animal cruelty officer with the state SPCA. It came to light Thursday because an animal rescuer petitioned Carbon County Court to take them off his hands.
Authorities said they entered the closed store to find a boa constrictor crawling loose and other snakes in unsecured boxes and food containers.
In addition to the live snakes, investigators said they found nine dead ones. Forty-three of the snakes were ill when seized and three have died since, officials said.
The store's owner, Steven Markevich, 44, of 83 E. Third St., Jim Thorpe, and a woman helper -- described in court papers as Markevich's girlfriend and identified only as ''Becky'' -- have disappeared and are being sought, officials said.
Authorities have filed warrants against Markevich charging him with reckless endangerment, maintaining a public nuisance, 17 counts of animal cruelty and 160 counts of violating the borough exotic pet ordinance.
The reckless endangerment charge, which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years, comes from the snakes being kept without a license in a ''high-density commercial/residential district,'' according to court papers.
The storefront was locked Thursday, its windows covered with white paper and summonses taped to its door.
Chris Foley, the animal rescuer petitioning the court to release the animals, said that among other things, he faces risk handling the snakes and doesn't have antivenin to treat any bites -- and neither do local hospitals. Foley declined to reveal where he lives or where he is caring for the snakes.
If Foley is successful, the snakes would be released to be sold, Ardey said.
Foley's attorney, Stephen Vlossak of Palmerton, and Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Dydra-Hatton met privately on the matter but didn't reach an agreement.
Court papers give this account of the raid:
Authorities said they were alerted to the snakes by Keith Schaffer, the owner of an adjacent business, who told them venomous snakes were being kept in unsecured containers. He told police Markevich had not been at the store for more than three months, and ''Becky'' nearly that long.
Police met with building owner Michael Sulek, Foley and another animal rescuer, Kelly Switzer, and entered the store to find a ''rancid odor'' that intensified as they walked through the store.
They saw a boa constrictor crawling loose on the floor and found plastic containers holding live and dead reptiles, unsecured venomous snakes in wooden bins and 11 venomous snakes in containers with easily removed lids.
Other snakes were covered in feces and urine, Foley found some with respiratory and oral infections, and there was inadequate water and food for the animals.
Ardey, who was not part of the search, later determined the snakes' conditions were caused by the unhealthful conditions and carelessness of the owners.
Police said Schaffer previously complained about white mice being kept at the business, and authorities said they saw them at that time as well.
Police determined the conditions were ''a danger to residents and visitors'' and took custody of the animals. Foley said it took a 26-foot truck to transport all the snakes.
Neither Markevich nor ''Becky'' had a license to keep the animals, according to court papers.
Lehighton Borough Council in November adopted an ordinance that prohibits keeping exotic pets, such as reptiles, raccoons or porcupines, in homes or businesses within borough limits. Serpent's Den opened before the ordinance was adopted.
Here are the types of snakes investigators said they found in an abandoned Lehighton pet store:
103 ball pythons
16 boa constrictors
9 prairie rattlesnakes
7 unspecified rattlesnakes
4 sunset monocled cobras
3 Bredl's pythons
3 Brooks king snakes
2 Saharan sand boas
2 Honduran milk snakes
2 urutu vipers
2 Baja rattlesnakes
1 jungle carpet python
1 Irian Jaya carpet python
1 Dumeril's boa
1 leucistic Texas ratsnake
1 Moroccan cobra
1 black-necked spitting cobra
1 snake not identified
Source: Carbon County Court documents
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