http://www.orlandosentinel.com/featu...924-story.html
September 23, 2014, 10:17PM
A house in West Palm Beach turned out to be a den of venomous snakes, authorities say.
And the reptiles were guarded by a man who kept lying to a state wildlife officer, according to a report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Acting on a complaint, a wildlife officer came to the home of Brian Buchkowski, 29, who lived with his parents on Green Springs Place, the report says.
Buchkowski acknowledged owning some snakes but denied any were venomous species, for which it is difficult to get a permit. With his permission, the officer went to inspect his room. In a closet, the officer saw a sheet draped over a container.
"Upon moving the sheet, a cobra flared its head up and struck the plastic container it was in," the report states.
Buchkowsk denied this was a venomous snake.
Looks like a cobra to me, the officer said. OK, it's a cobra, the man admitted, according to the report.
Any more venomous reptiles I should know about? the officer asked.
No, Buchkowski said.
The officer looked around some more. Under the bathroom sink, he said he found a plastic container with five copperheads and a white-lipped pit viper. A black-and-white spitting cobra was in an aquarium, the report says.
The snakes were confiscated, and Buchkowski was handed a fistful of citations for failing to obtain licenses for the snakes, lacking any documentation on their ownership, failing to lock enclosures with venomous snakes, not labeling the enclosures "Danger, Venomous Reptiles" and other violations.
dfleshler@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4535
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