During the last week of August 2007, I entered into a trade agreement with an individual by the name of Ed Braaten. Our agreement was to trade my breeder male cinnamon pastel and 400g mojave male for three female lemon pastel babies and $700. As per the agreement, I shipped the snakes to Ed on August 30, 2007. Ed was supposed to ship the pastels to me with a check for the mojave inside the box. I sent the snakes on the agreed date of August 30, 2007 with FedEx. This is the email I received from Ed in reference to my handliing of the transaction:
Jody-
Hey thanks for the great transaction, after the deal with the other guy i am really glad this went off so smooth. I will call you now but the tracking number is 863194707095
Fed Ex
Ed
Ed was referring to another deal where he thought he was going to be screwed (how ironic).
When Ed shipped the snakes to me the next day, I opened to box to find no cashier’s check enclosed. The three snakes were in an unlined box, packed in a chinese take out container sealed with packing tape, and wrapped in a white bath towel. I figured the snakes would be dead. The snakes were alive, and I called Ed to ask about the money. Ed said he must have left it lying on the counter at FedEx when he sealed the box before shipping, and that he would go the next day and check. Ed called me and said the check was not at FedEx, and that he went to the bank to have the check cancelled and they would take up to 10 days to re-issue the check. Ed then quit answering my calls and emails in regards to the money.
On September 18, 2007, I drove 500 miles (9 hours) and showed up on his doorstep the afternoon of September 19, 2007 after getting some sleep at a local motel. Ed was so scared that he could not talk without stuttering. He only poked his head around the corner of the door, and would not open the screen door. I told Ed that I either wanted the snake or the money. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, and said he needed 45 minutes to get ready and he would get me the snake. I told him that I wasn’t taking him on a date so he didn’t need to pretty up, and to get some shoes on and get the snake so I could go home. Ed then shut the door in my face. I waited in my truck in his driveway, and about 30 minutes later he called me and said his friend “Nick” had the snake at his house and was going to meet me at the gas station at the end of the road at 4:30 with the snake. I arrived there at 4:25 and waited until 5:00 and no one showed. I then called the Butler Co. Sheriff’s Dept. to have a deputy go to the house with me to try to get the snake back. When the dispatcher trasnferred the call to Deputy Gurley, he advised me that Ed called him while I was waiting in his driveway and said that he did not want me on his property and that if I went back that he would arrest me. I then left to come home.
While on the way home, Deputy Gurley called me and asked me why I went back to Ed’s house after I was told not to? I told him that I didn’t, and that the dispatcher told me that Ed was leaving town when I made the original call to Deputy Gurley. I asked him how Ed could have known if I was there if he wasn’t? Deputy Gurley then threatened me to file charges and stated that it was up to him if he filed a felony or misdemeanor charge against me. Deputy Gurley then tried to ask me in numerous round about ways where I was. I told him it was none of his business. He tried to force me to tell him where I was and the said he wanted to know so that he could notify the proper agency to have me stopped and arrested. I told him I was headed towards Dallas on I35 to stay with a friend for the night, when I was actually in El Reno, OK on I40 going West towards home. Deputy Gurley then told me that if I ever came back to Kansas that he would find a reason to arrest me.
When I arrived home, I was checking my email and received an email from Ed. He told me that I needed professional help and that I had some real issues in my life because I left a message for him that I was going to file on him in civil court in Texas for failing to follow through on his agreement in the trade. In the last line of the email, he stated verbatim…..”you need to do the right thing in life so that life will treat you right…have a good life, and I am through dealing with you.”
Ed also accused me of screwing him on kingsnake.com. This resulted from the following incident. A couple of days after I did not receive the money from Ed, I noticed an ad in the trade section on kingsnake.com. The ad was in reference to trading a walk in incubator and a lemon pastel male for something. I knew from our conversations that Ed was in posession of two items very similar to this. I sent a bogus email from an account that Ed did not know I had offering to trade an ’07 pied male and “06 het pied female for this incubator. Wouldn’t you know that the person who responed to the ad was Ed Braaten, who was using a second account. Because of our transaction, I sent an email to kingsnake.com advising them of the whole situation. I received an email from them with directions about how to formally file a complaint against Ed. I followed all their instructions, and then received an email from them stating that all necessary steps were taken to make sure this problem did not occur again. I know Ed is banned from kingsnake.com because he told me I was wrong for reporting him and getting him banned. The other name he was using on that account was E. Thomison. Incidentally, I have learned that Thomison is his wife’s ex husband’s sir name.
Ed’s contact information is as follows:
Ed Braaten (Thomison)
13463 SW 106th ST.
Rose Hill, KS 67133
816-588-0639
Email;
ozarkflyer1974@yahoo.com
I was a fool for trusting him, and I am sending this email to prevent him from doing this to anyone else. People like this are not good for our hobby. Please forward this to all of you reptile friends so that they may be protected as well.
He has his wife's contact info posted here that he used to contact me after he placed this ad on kingsnake.com. This caused him to be banned from kingsnake.com. I can verify if need be with a forwarded email containing this contact info.
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