Assault with a rattlesnake

Idaho Falls, ID, Jun. 16 (UPI) -- An Idaho man is facing a maximum five years in prison if he's convicted of throwing a rattlesnake at another man after a bar fight.

Roger Hunter Jr. reportedly got into a fistfight at an Idaho Falls tavern, after which he left to retrieve a rattlesnake from his vehicle, KIFI-TV reported Wednesday.

Hunter then allegedly returned to the bar and threw the three-and-a-half foot snake at the man with whom he had been fighting.

When the snake hit the floor, it was about five inches away from Wayne Fuell. Another patron used Fuell's crutch to stop the snake from moving any farther.

Prosecutor Dane Watkins decided a rattlesnake suffices as a deadly weapon and charged Hunter with aggravated assault.

Link to story

ABC news version

keep rattlesnakes in their car often? I guess that is one way to keep your vehicle from getting stolen!

Speaking of stolen reminds me of an article I read once.
Seems a Tattoo parlor had suffered a couple of break ins where their equipment was stolen.
The thief was coming in the same window.
The owner decided to rig a cage above the window in such a way that when the window was opened the bottom dropped out of the cage.
He then put a westen diamondback in the cage.
A little while later he came to open the shop one day and the snake was loose in the room and the window was open.
He suffered no more burglaries.

Does that mean I should rig a rattler to all my doors while I'm AWAY lol!! I think a sign that said "Guarded by Venomous Snakes" would be sufficient in my neck of the woods... -Eric Lago *MS Reptilian Hobbyists*