On Saturday January 15, 2005 we had two guys and a girl in their late teens come into my store and saw a flyer I had posted looking for ball pythons. They inquired to what I was looking for and I told them adult females and if there’s turned out to be a male I would not be interested. After talking a bit with them they thought they might have a female and took the chance on going home to Allentown and return with it. When they got back I probed the snake and unfortunately it was a male. While I was probing, the girl and the one of the guys made their way to the front of the store where I had a Reticulated Gila Monster housed in a 40 gallon breeder aquarium which was locked down with clips. The guy I was talking to seemed a bit disappointed that I didn’t not want to purchase or trade for his snake that wasn’t in very good shape to begin with and I told him I had no use for anymore males which I have plenty of at the moment and made that very clear to him before he even went to get his Ball Python.
On Sunday it was noticed that the Gila was missing from the enclosure with the lid slightly lifted. We thought it was very odd that it could have gotten out but didn’t know what else to think at the moment. We spent hours looking for it on Sunday and Monday.
Mike Winzer the owner of Angels R Us located in Allentown, PA called my store and spoke with Becky as I was not in when he called. He asked her if I would be interested in a Gila Monster that someone just dropped off at his store because he knew I was into this sort of stuff.
When I got back a couple hours later and got the message I immediately called Mike back and asked him about the Gila Monster and he told me he already lined up Rick Krumrine to take it off his hands. I then mentioned to Mike that I had a Gila stolen from the store Saturday and I believed that the Gila he had was likely mine as our stores not far from one another. His tone of voice changed as he asked “Well what do you want me to do about it?” which sounded to me as a “finder’s keeper’s attitude” I replied that if it’s mine I want it back. Then he said “well how are you going to know that it’s yours?” I told him that I would know my animal especially having it for about six months and in addition to the fact that I have pictures of it. Well in his voice I could hear he sounded very disappointed. I then asked him if I could come down to his store to identify it. He told me that he just got back from the White Plains Show which was a two day show Saturday and Sunday and that he was only at the store to unpack what he brought back from the show and was leaving when I called because he was very tired. I told him that I could be there shortly and he still he refused. At this point I told him not to move the animal anywhere until I could take a look at it and that I would see him tomorrow which would be Tuesday. After we hung up I thought to myself that this was just a way for him to buy a little time to think about what he was going to do and my reason for thinking this is because I’ve heard some negative things about his character in the past and thought to myself that more than likely the Gila would no longer be there on Tuesday and I would get some kind of story as to why it was gone. Becky knew where his store was so we took a ride there Monday night to see if anyone was at the store. We got there roughly 7:15pm and there were no lights on and no sign of anyone being in the store.
We went the next morning around 11am and waited for him to arrive and open. We went across the street and got a slice of pizza. When we returned around 12:15pm., the lights were on so Becky and I went into the store and Mike turned around and looked at me and said “Dude you should have called me first.” I asked him why and he said that the Gila isn’t here anymore. I said to him I sort of expected it not to be there anyway. I walked towards him with thoughts of putting his head through one of his aquariums but really tried to remain calm and asked him where did it go?
He told me that the guy that dropped it off came back and picked it up Monday evening around 6:45pm and that his manager gave it back to the guy. I asked him to call his manager and he told us that his manager was a truck driver and was on the road and won’t answer his cell phone anyway. He said I could call Rick Krumrine that he was disappointed that he wasn’t going to get the Gila.
About the guy who dropped the Gila off. He described the guy who dropped the Gila off and explained at first that he was a regular customer that comes into the store regularly. Then it changed to well, he doesn’t come in that often. This guy at one time had a deposit on a Tegu that he wanted Mike to order therefore, Mike had his name and telephone number on a receipt. When it came to asking him for the guy’s name and number, he said that for some odd reason, that was the only receipt ever he has thrown away and now he has no idea even what the guy’s name is. His description went from he was about 6’2, lanky, very nerdy guy to a big 6’5 guy in his mid twenty’s. He said he knew that the guy moved here from California and bought the Gila at a show in California. He also knew that the guy was out of school because he worked the same job for the past few years but could not remember where he worked. For all that he knew about him, it was all general info and couldn’t remember any kind of details. He said he never knew that this guy was into venomous stuff but knew the guy has wounds from venomous bites. A pretty bad wound on his elbow where he had a lot of “elbow muscle removed as Mike puts it” from a rattlesnake bite and was part of the reason why he dropped the Gila off was because it bit him twice. Mike told us the Gila bitten the guys rib cage and on the inside of his right bicep. (How do you get bit in these spots from a Gila?) It just seems funny how he Mike knows so much yet so little about this guy. He said if the guy came back in or called or anything he would try and get some info on him for me. I find it odd too how when this guy dropped of the Gila he said how adamant he was about having to leave it there because he had to get rid of it. But a few hours later he came back rather upset because he wanted it back. He said he wasn’t happy with the trade they made for it. Mike said he traded him a $200.00 Bearded Dragon for the Gila.
I told Mike don’t you think it’s odd someone would just drop off a Gila Monster and trade it for a Bearded Dragon? If someone had a Gila that they purchased they would know what the value would be and not settle trading for a Bearded Dragon. He replied by saying that people drop off rare and expensive animals all the time including adult female Peruvian Redtail Boas and don’t even expect to get paid for them so getting this Gila for a Bearded Dragon didn’t seem so unusual. What is a little mind boggling is considering where his store is located it is illegal for him to have these types of reptiles, so where does he keep them?
We went back to our store hoping we would hear something but I wasn’t holding my breath. We had a fish delivery that day and the guy who delivers our fish is Tim Reichard who happens to be the guy who we purchased the Gila from back in July. We explained what happened with the Gila being stolen and told him the story. Tim said we probably wouldn’t get the Gila back from Mike but knew a guy who he believed worked for or with Mike and said he would give him a call to see if he had heard anything. A few hours later Tim called and talked to Becky as I wasn’t there when he called. He pretty much found out nothing except for that Mike had offered this Gila to another guy as well but the guy wasn’t interested. Later that day Mike called and also talked to Becky as I still wasn’t back yet and said that the guy that who dropped off the Gila called that day. He said he wouldn’t give him his phone number or anything when asked but would stop into Mike’s store to talk about a Black & White Argentine Tegu that he wanted to order from him. Mike then said that he wanted me to stop calling his “friends” and making him sound like a liar. First of all, I said nothing but the facts of what happened. He said that he and Tim had been friends sometime ago but had a falling out which was 100% Tim’s fault. He said that he was doing us a favor and that we shouldn’t be as*holes about it or he can say Screw You because he was our only “Connection” to the guy who dropped it off the Gila. For him being a connection he knew pretty much a whole lot about the guy but knew nothing. He said if we were going to be as*holes about it that he could be too and he could tell us f*ck you …find your own lizard. But what has he done other than move the lizard when asked not to…..not letting me look at the lizard before it was so quickly gone….and not giving any information that means anything at all? He’s done a lot of story changing and a lot of stuttering and blubbering, not much else.
Mike told us that his manager Todd worked for him and the only day off he had was on Tuesdays and he worked at Angels R Us every day of the week except for Tuesday. He used the words “he’s my manager” Here is an email I received from Todd his Manager:
-----Original Message-----
From:
flatout1966@hotmail.com [mailto:flatout1966@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 9:49 AM
To:
reptiles@serpentsden.com
Subject: Message about
: Reticulated Gila Monster
Steve,
Hi, my name is Todd and I help Mike at his store occasionally. Mike doesn't have the Gila anymore. I know this because I gave it back to the guy who brought it in that night. I didn't know that you had contacted Mike about it possibly being an animal that was stolen from you. The guy brought the beardie Mike had given him back in and demanded the Gila back. He said he didn't like the trade and wanted his animal back. I couldn't get hold of Mike, so I just traded the guy back. I'm sorry your animal was stolen but you need to stop with the bull****. Mike does NOT have the Gila anymore. He didn't have it for more than four or five hours. If you would like to talk to me about it, I would be happy do so. You can call me at 610-216-9219. Todd
This is my reply to Todd:
Todd,
Stop the Bull****? I think it's the other way around Todd. I don't believe anything what Mike has told me and being his friend/employee I don't believe you either. First of all Mike is the owner and if the guy come back demanding the Gila back than it would've been easy enough to tell the guy to come back and speak to Mike the OWNER about it.
I'm making sure the herp industry is aware of this whole situation and a full story of detailed events is coming which Mike has included you in on.
If Mike returns me my Gila everything will go away but it's not going to go away till then.
Steve Markevich
Serpent's Den
Carbon Plaza Mall
1241 Blakeslee Blvd. East
Lehighton, PA 18235
Tel. (570) 386-8122
Now Mike told us that Todd is his manager and works 6 days a week. Todd says that he’s a friend that helps out occasionally. Which is it and if Todd was closing Mikes store Monday evening why couldn’t I go to ID the Gila?
After replying to Todds e-mail I received a phone call from Rick Krumrine who told me he’s gonna be pissed if his name comes up in this but I told Rick I’m telling the story as is which Mike included him in on. One thing Rick told me which doesn’t make sense to me is he just spoke to Mike but wasn’t sure if he’s spoken to him since being offered this Gila on Monday and Tuesday when Mike opened he said I can call Rick myself as he was aware of the situation.
Now for a reward:
If the Gila is returned safely and the theif arrested I will offer a reward of $1650.00 in store credit which is/was the price of the Gila.
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