SOMERSET — State police are looking for a burglar who knows a good snake when he sees – or steals – one.
Someone sneaked into Tony’s Pets by shattering a bathroom window in the middle of the night Wednesday and made off with a bagful of exotic snakes worth more than $10,000, store owner Lorie Baker said.
The burglar also took $3,000 in cash from a register and a 9-inch alligator, about 2 months old, police said.
“We opened this store for the community,” Baker said. “This is a real slap in the face.”
The burglars took a piebald ball python and a spider python – both high-end species that could fetch as much as $5,000 apiece.
“Whoever took them knew what to go for,” Baker said.
Tired of driving to Johnstown or Greensburg to buy supplies for her snakes, dogs and cats, Baker decided to open a pet shop along Route 31 west of Somerset almost exactly two years ago.
Baker sometimes spends 16 hours working at the shop, with help from her son, Tony Donia, for whom the business is named.
“We really didn’t open this to make millions,” Baker said. “We did it because there was nowhere to go in Somerset.”
Police said the burglary happened between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Anyone with information can call the Somerset barracks: 445-4104.
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