High End Herps (Inquiry)

Originally Posted by dutchallison00

I'm about 4-5 years late, but I just wanted to come back and eat a little crow. Also, I owe apologies to Ritchie Luna, Ben R, and Jay Owens... in hindsight, the pickup truck thing should have done it for me...

It's a big man who can stand up and admit he was 100%, completely, without a shred of doubt, unequivocally and absolutely as wrong as a human could possibly be since the beginning of time

Good on ya!

Originally Posted by Jason Bowden

The link:

http://www.kltv.com/story/14485852/n...edirected=true

Well, that is the first time I think we really have been listen to on the Alias.

First time I've seen it reported at least. They didn't really seem to dive into it with the Louisiana case.

Originally Posted by Dennis Hultman

Well, that is the first time I think we really have been listen to on the Alias.

First time I've seen it reported at least. They didn't really seem to dive into it with the Louisiana case.

Since they stated in the video they were going to get the FBI involved in this I'm sure they are going to be digging fairly deep into his background this time around.

Originally Posted by dutchallison00

I'm about 4-5 years late, but I just wanted to come back and eat a little crow. Also, I owe apologies to Ritchie Luna, Ben R, and Jay Owens... in hindsight, the pickup truck thing should have done it for me...

It is all good dude. As long as the people find out the truth, no matter if it is good or bad, then mission accomplished.

Originally Posted by dutchallison00

I'm about 4-5 years late, but I just wanted to come back and eat a little crow. Also, I owe apologies to Ritchie Luna, Ben R, and Jay Owens... in hindsight, the pickup truck thing should have done it for me...

No apology needed James. I can certainly understand where you were coming from. He had me fooled for a long time too after I first met him. I'm just glad you see him for who he really is now.

Some Reading fun...

http://www.kltv.com/story/14494150/s...-investigation

Not the first snake-related arrest for Wood Co. suspect

WOOD COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - Wood County authorities handed over 79 giant snakes to the Humane Society of North Texas on Thursday morning.

The Humane Society is now handling a growing, multi-state investigation involving the alleged owner of the snakes.

David Beauchemin is being held in the Wood County Jail on an outstanding warrant from Louisiana.

Now, the authorities think he's been peddling snakes in more than one area, and that the name David Beauchemin might be one of a list of aliases.

Not only was there a warrant in Louisiana, but Arizona Authorities would like to get their hands on Beauchemin. He has also been jailed in California, all of which on related charges.

Wood County Sheriff's Deputies say they have also contacted the FBI. They are hoping information from the agency's fingerprint database will let them know if Beauchemin is wanted in other places.

Authorities are actively searching for his alleged wife, who may also have several aliases.

Copyright 2011 KLTV. All rights reserved.

http://www.kmoo.com/home/224-identit...-question.html

Identity of Quitman Snake Man in Question
Written by Clayton Neville
Friday, 22 April 2011 08:42

The North Texas Humane Society arrived in Quitman yesterday afternoon to seize nearly 80 snakes from a trailer found on the property of 45-year-old Quitman resident David Beauchemin.

David Beauchemin currently was arrested Wednesday on 23 warrants for animal cruelty in Louisiana and sits in the Wood County today jail fighting extradition to Louisiana.

According to Jerry Blalock of the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, Wood County plans to file charges against Beauchemin pending a veterinary report. Blalock said, “he (Beauchemin) will be charged in Wood County and I can not disclose exactly what charges at this time.”

Wood County Authorities said they have contacted the FBI for more information on Beauchemin and have discovered he has five warrants in Arizona under a different name. Beauchemin also is wanted out of California. Blalock believes Beauchemin uses aliases such as David Johnston and David Heyman. Blalock said, “I do not know who he is.”
Police have yet to locate Tawnie Beauchemin, David’s alleged wife.

http://www.kplctv.com/story/14491662...n-arrested-for

Oakdale man arrested; nearly 100 snakes seized
Posted: Apr 21, 2011 2:37 PM EDT Updated: Apr 21, 2011 2:37 PM EDT
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QUITMAN, TX (KPLC) - When an Oakdale man was arrested in Wood County Texas, Sheriff's deputies seized a total of 78 snakes from his motor home.

David Beauchemin was arrested late Tuesday night on his property on an outstanding bench warrant from Allen Parish.

Back in March of last year, David and Tawni Beauchemin were arrested for illegally selling big snakes online. There were also reports that David advertised as a "pet adopter" on Craigslist, but fed those pets to his snakes.

The couple were to be arraigned in September, but they both failed to show up for the court hearing. Bench warrants were issued for both of them. Officials with Allen Parish Sheriff's say when David was arrested in Texas, Tawni's belongings were found on the property, but she was not.

Officials say David will be brought back to Allen Parish to face his bench warrant, but when that will happen is unknown.

He faces 22 counts of animal cruelty.

http://www.americanpress.com/lc/blog...wssum/?p=18495

Fugitive snake breeder caught (4/22)

Posted April 22, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
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By DORIS MARICLE / AMERICAN PRESS

Texas authorities apprehended a former Oakdale man accused of operating a snake-breeding farm without proper permits and abusing animals left in his care.

Allen Parish officials said David Beauchemin, 45, has been on the run since September when he and his wife, Tawni, 24, failed to appear for arraignment in 33rd Judicial District Court. Tawni Beauchemin remains at large, authorities said.

Lt. Jerry Blaylock of the Wood County Sheriff’s Office said David Beauchemin is being held in the Wood County jail and is fighting extradition to Louisiana.

Texas officials said they may file charges against Beauchemin, who reportedly had more than 75 snakes in a cargo trailer on his property, in Quitman, Texas.

Blaylock said authorities went to Beauchemin’s residence Tuesday in response to a welfare concern. He said deputies “did not like the way he acted” and began investigating Beauchemin.

Deputies reportedly returned Wednesday to serve a bench warrant and discovered the cargo trailer. Blaylock said Beauchemin had been living in a motor home on the property for two to three months — under the alias of James Johnson — and may have been operating an Internet snake business.

The snakes have been transferred to the North Texas Humane Society of Austin and will be held there until a hearing next week, Blaylock said. If the Sheriff’s Office is awarded care of the snakes, they will be donated to the Humane Society or area zoos, he said.

The snakes included pythons, constrictors and anacondas — some measuring 15 to 20 feet, Blaylock said. Most appeared undernourished and were living in filthy conditions, he said. Many of the snakes seized are believed to be on the exotic snake list, meaning ownership of them required a permit, Blaylock said.

The Beauchemins were scheduled to be arraigned in September on 21 counts of simple cruelty to animals and one count of possession of snakes longer than 12 feet without a permit. They also face charges of violating interstate commerce laws by selling snakes that were not legal to possess; theft of less than $300 by fraud; telephone harassment; and cyberstalking.

They were arrested in March 2010 after authorities followed up on a complaint that they were illegally selling animals online.

The Beauchemins claim their home and snake-breeding business, High End Herps Inc., off Ward Line Road just south of Oakdale, were illegally searched and that they are wrongly accused of abusing animals. They also operated Happy Hounds Rescue at the same location.

During the raid, authorities reportedly found more than 200 snakes — some of them over 12 feet in length — and other animals. The snakes included pythons, many of them in the 16-to-19-foot range.

State legislators approved a measure last year that controls the buying, handling and selling of exotic snakes in Louisiana.

It requires permits for those who possess venomous snakes and those longer than 8 feet and licenses for those buying or handling poisonous snakes or constrictors for resale or propagation. Commercial snake businesses must be periodically checked for compliance with state law.

Copyright American Press. All rights reserved.

This one is just plain amusing.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairba...itive_loui.php

David Beauchemin: Fugitive Louisiana Snake Farmer Busted Again In East Texas
By John Nova Lomax, Thu., Apr. 21 2011 @ 2:01PM
Categories: Crime


David Beauchemin.JPG
Wood County Jail
David Beauchemin: High End Herps is a great company name.


Authorities from several law enforcement agencies and a handful of private-sector reptile experts raided the snake farm of David Beauchemin yesterday in Wood County. Before the day was done, the deputies, game wardens and employees of the Caldwell Zoo had hauled off 78 boas, anacondas and pythons ranging in length from four to 12 feet. One of the snakes -- an albino Burmese python, has a street value of $20,000.)

Beauchemin fled Louisiana after jumping bail on a similar case. The ill-coiffed, 45-year-old Cajun and his 23-year-old wife Tawni were arrested after a March 2010 raid at their combined home/place of business.

Make that businesses: Not only were they operating a snake farm with the unfortunate name High End Herps Inc. (which sounds like something you would catch from a Manhattan call girl), but also Happy Hounds Rescue, an animal shelter they advertised on Craigslist as a "germ free safe haven" for cats, dogs and other more conventional pets.

It was Happy Hounds that brought on their downfall. A woman told police she found the dog she entrusted to the Beauchemins for sale on Craigslist, and that complaint triggered the raid.

That woman's pooch might have been one of the lucky ones. Louisiana authorities now think that some of the puppies and kitties the Beauchemins pledged to shelter wound up as slowly digesting lumps in the bellies of the giant snakes. According to some reports, there had also been a rash of missing-animal complaints in the area after the Beauchemins set up shop.

"We found conditions relating to cruelty to animals," said an Allen Parish cop last year. "Sanitary conditions there were very poor. We have been seizing evidence that will be tested later in the lab to see if there is anything illegal pertaining to the animals."

Police say that David and Tawni Beauchemin were living in squalid conditions. They shared sleeping quarters with their reptiles in a snake barn, which did not have a flush toilet. They told police they burned their own feces in a barrel; as for the snake-shit, police say they pretty much just left it where it lay.

Marc Duhon, a Lafayette-based (legit) snake raiser, says that conditions were appalling. He helped authorities clean up High End Herps and characterizes the scene as "total chaos and filth."

"It was total Third World conditions in there," he says. "Just death everywhere, these reeking smells. I couldn't believe any animals were alive in there."

He says that Beauchemin also threatened him after his arrest. "He told me he was gonna blow my house up, burn it down, shoot me in the head and dance around like a demon," Duhon remembers. "He's a weird guy."

Charges are still pending in the Texas case. Beauchemin was extradited back to the swamps to face 22 counts of animal cruelty along with numerous other violations relating to improperly operating a snake farm, not to mention telephone harassment and cyberstalking charges.

http://www.kens5.com/news/Now-what--120480949.html

Now what: Texas Humane Society burdened with arrival of 79 seized snakes

QUITMAN (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Officials with the Humane Society of North Texas (HSNT) in Fort Worth say the arrival of dozens of snakes at their facility is going to be a huge financial responsibility for them.

The 79 boa constrictors, pythons and anacondas are part of an animal abuse case.

A Louisiana man, wanted for failing to appear in court on animal abuse charges, was arrested in East Texas, along with the snakes. Wood County deputies say 45-year-old David James Beauchemin of Oakdale, La., was arrested in Quitman on Wednesday on 22 outstanding warrants accusing him of failure to appear in court as ordered in Allen Parish, La.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Kilan Polk tells the Tyler Morning Telegraph that deputies rescued the snakes, some as long as 20 feet, when Beauchemin was taken into custody.

HSNT officials say the snakes cannot be placed for adoption since they are part of a criminal investigation. Once the case is closed workers say they will do their best to place the serpents.

Until the case is cleared the snakes must be cared for. Humane Society workers are hoping the public can help offset the financial impact on the organization by donating aquariums, heating lamps, ceramic discs, or anything ‘snake related’.

Cash donations can also be made on the Humane Society of North Texas website. Donors can designate that they want their support to go toward medical care expenses for the snakes.

Beauchemin remains in Wood County Jail without bond pending extradition and any Texas charges.

Quitman is about 80 miles east of Dallas.

http://www.cbs19.tv/story/14494112/s...of-north-texas

Seized snakes transported to Humane Society of North Texas
By Hayley Wielgus

The latest case of animal cruelty involves snakes. Nearly 80 dangerous snakes seized from a Wood County residence Tuesday are now in the care of the Humane Society of North Texas in Ft. Worth.

They were living in snake containers in a crowded trailer. The snake rescuers said they weren't severely malnourished, but some are sick and were found in filthy conditions. The snakes included pythons, boa constrictors, anacondas and an albino reticulated python worth $20,000.

It's a methodical process to get each of the 79 snakes stored safely and on its way to the Humane Society.

"They're a little thinner than I would expect as far as their body weight," said snake expert Kerry Rosenberry.

Rosenberry was called in to help authorities seize the animals from a property near Lake Quitman; the snakes belonged to David James Beauchemin.

"He's kind of an outcast in the reptile community," Rosenberry said. "He had some unsound practices and not a lot of respect."

According to the Wood County Sheriffs Office, Beauchemin was selling the snakes online and has faced charges in Louisiana, Arizona and California under several aliases.

Tammy Roberts of the Humane Society of North Texas said she sees this happen often with reptiles.

"They can be very inexpensive to purchase, then sell on the black market for thousands of dollars," Roberts said. "It's a huge market for these folks to give very little care to the animals and make a huge profit."

The snakes will be seen by veterinarians who will check them for medical problems. Until the snakes can be adopted, they will be nursed back to health at Humane Society of North Texas.

"They're going to be in our exotic area in Ft. Worth," Roberts said. "We have it set up normally for large cats, tigers, bears but we're going to turn it into a snake room."

The snakes will not be available for public adoption; they will be placed in zoos or with people who have a special reptile permit.

After talking with the Humane Society and doing some research, CBS 19 discovered that Beauchemin had adopted dogs and cats that he fed to the snakes.

The Wood County Sheriff's Office is working with the FBI to track down criminal records for all of Beauchemin's aliases. Investigators said he could face up to 60 or 70 charges of animal cruelty in Wood County.

http://www.kcbd.com/story/14485852/n...od-co-property

Nearly 100 snakes seized from Wood Co. property
Posted: Apr 20, 2011 6:47 PM EDT Updated: Apr 22, 2011 10:10 AM EDT
By Elizabeth Thomas, Director of New Media Content

WOOD COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - Forty-five down and dozens more to go. One by one, State Game Wardens, Wood County Deputies and even Zoo Keepers were called in to ID and move Boas and Albino Burmese Pythons into clean containers with clean water.

Authorities say David Beauchemin was arrested late Tuesday night on the property. He had failed to show up at a court hearing in Louisiana, stemming from 22 counts of animal cruelty.

We were told the suspect had only lived in Quitman for about a month or two.

Deputies would only say, information led them to the motor home where they found their man and a large amount of cash inside.

Later, deputies came across a cargo trailer full of snakes.

Deputies say there are reports out of Louisiana that Beauchemin advertised as a "pet adopter" on Craigslist...but fed those pets to his snakes.

As of now, those reports are isolated to Louisiana.

In all 78 snakes were removed from the property.

I am glad this guy has been caught, but I am rather turned off at the way these articles are portraying the reptile hobby. They are making it sound like it is a crime to own/breed/sell snakes period.

Just saw Damon lying his a$$ off on the news. He looked the judge directly in the eye and told her none of the snakes, vehicles or property was in his name. He was just staying there.

You know, that was probably true. That's his M.O. Isn't it? Everything always belongs to everyone but him.

The judge ordered all 75 snakes into the custody of the Humane Society of North Texas. Plans to extradite Damon to Louisiana this week. Authorities are still looking foe Tawny because she's wanted in Louisiana too. Authorities believe her to be his wife but she also goes under numerous aliases.

They listed his name as Damon Heynen and said his fingerprint match came from the FBI database from the manslaughter charge in CA.

Does it ever end with this guy?

That was on the 10 pm news KLTV channel 7 in Tyler, TX.

Originally Posted by Mad4You2

That was on the 10 pm news KLTV channel 7 in Tyler, TX.

thanks, here's the link (there are 2 vids posted from the court room) and info from their website:

http://www.kltv.com/story/14517212/s...ing-in-wood-co

"WOOD COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - The man that had almost 100 snakes seized from his property last week was in court Tuesday afternoon.

David Beauchemin's hearing was set for 1:00 pm, Tuesday in Judge Alice Tomerlin's Court in Wood County.

Beauchemin stated for the record that his real name is Damon James Heimen.

According to a Human Society person in the courtroom, the majority of the snakes were dehydrated and malnourished. Some of the snakes also had mouth rot.

The judged ordered that the snakes are now the property of the Humane Society of North Texas and that Beauchemin/Heimen owes $4,000 for the care of the snakes.

Did you give away your pet to this man? KLTV would like to talk to you. Send us an email.

Copyright 2011 KLTV. All rights reserved."