This guy got off easy

Here is the artical and I will post a link. There are a couple of pics and a video if you follow the link.


Bradenton, Florida -- Wildlife handler Justin Matthews isn't hiding from his mistakes.

"It was a stupid thing to do, it really was," he told 10 Connects.

This week, he pleaded no contest to charges against him for staging the capture of a 14-foot Burmese python in July. He was arrested in November on charges of misusing the 911 emergency system and threatening the public by mishandling wildlife.

Matthews accepted two years probation and 100 hours of community service on Tuesday.

Photo Gallery: Pictures of Justin Matthews and the python

"I'm never going to step over the line again, do something that was stupid. I tied up a line, there could have been someone having a heart attack or fire or trying to call 911," he said.

10 Connects was among the local media and law enforcement who responded to the Bradenton drainage pipe where Matthews claimed to capture the 14-foot python.

Read: Python caught in drainage pipe a hoax

He later admitted he did it to raise awareness about the dangers pythons pose to the environment and people. The death of a Florida toddler in July spurred the hoax, he said.

"I'm very passionate about what I do. I do the presentations every week, six days a week and I let that passion get me carried away, I stepped over the line," he admitted.

As he continues to give his tours at the wildlife sanctuary he runs in Bradenton, he has no problem admitting what he did was wrong.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," he said.

He's hoping to not only continue his efforts to educate the public about pythons in the right way, but teach another life lesson... when you're wrong, admit it.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story...0&provider=rss

I do indeed loathe him.

Thanks for the update.

What a jackass!! "Raising awareness", more like raising concern and giving the powers that be more ammunition against us. Somebody should stuff him in a drainage pipe and flush.

This is a good example of just how overzealous people are becoming over the burm issue. It's just getting pathetic now.

This guy should have all his snakes taken away he is suppose to be a professional and he does this. What a jack a$$ people like this just hurt our hobby more than anything because they they own snakes. What are people going to think when a owner does something like this.

way to be an idiot on 2 fronts. not only did he fake a wild python capture and further mess everything up for hobbyists, but he called 911 like an idiot which could've really had harmful effects to somebody who really needed help.