NORRISTOWN -- A judge has forced a Pottstown man to slither off to jail for a burglary that allegedly was hatched to snatch some pet snakes.
Cody M. Ciccone, 20, of the 300 block of Old Reading Pike, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to nine to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of burglary in connection with the reptilian heist in March.
Judge Richard J. Hodgson, who accepted the plea agreement in the case, also ordered Ciccone to complete three years’ probation after he’s paroled from jail.
"Why he wanted them we don’t know," said Assistant District Attorney Bradford Richman, referring to the snakes that apparently prompted Ciccone’s actions. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Pottstown police, according to a criminal complaint, investigated a burglary at a home in the 500 block of North Franklin Street on March 22, during which the residents reported two snakes, two tanks and heap lamps had been stolen. The break-in occurred while the residents were away from the home.
During the course of the investigation, the residents told police that Ciccone, formerly of the 800 block of Farmington Avenue, Upper Pottsgrove, had been at their home as a guest earlier in the week and that Ciccone was aware the residents had pet snakes.
When police went to Ciccone’s former residence Ciccone stated he knew nothing about the missing snakes and that they weren’t at his home, according to court papers.
However, police then spoke to the owner of the Farmington Avenue residence, who said snakes weren’t permitted on the property.
"He then went downstairs and told me that the snakes were down there in the tanks. I recovered those items from the basement area," Pottstown police Corporal Michael Ponto wrote in the arrest affidavit.
The North Franklin Street resident subsequently identified the snakes, tanks and heat lamps as his property.
Ciccone later admitted to entering the North Franklin Street residence and removing the snakes and equipment, according to the criminal complaint.
"Maybe he thought this was a harmless crime. But burglary is serious. It’s an invasion of a person’s home and we won’t tolerate that," said Richman, who sought the jail sentence.
By pleading guilty to the burglary charge, Ciccone admitted that he unlawfully entered a building without permission with the intent to commit a crime.
Other charges of criminal trespass and theft of movable property were dismissed against Ciccone as part of the plea agreement.
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