A warrant has been issued for a Philadelphia man charging him with slashing his pet python with a butcher knife, ultimately leading to the reptile’s death.
The suspect, Kareem A. Langston, 28, is being sought on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals in the July 18 incident at a residence in the 100 block of Cheyenne Court near New Castle.
John E. Caldwell, executive director of the Delaware Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals, said county police officers investigating a domestic incident between Langston and his girlfriend discovered the injured reptile with three severe gashes on it in an aquarium on the second floor of the couple’s home.
New Castle County police notified the SPCA and animal cruelty investigator John Savelle to investigate.
Caldwell said Savelle found a butcher knife in the cage and brought the wounded snake back to the shelter, where it was examined by a veterinarian specializing in exotic animals.
“It was alive at the time it was brought back to the shelter,” Caldwell said. “An examination established the reptile was sliced with a knife. Due to its injuries, it died.”
Caldwell said it was determined that a butcher knife was used to slice the 2 1/2-foot-long ball python.
One of the slices cut though the snake’s vertebrae, he said.
Caldwell said a warrant was issued for Langston’s arrest Thursday after consulting with the state Attorney General’s Office, which determined there was enough evidence to charge Langston.
Langston initially told investigators that the snake, Poppy, hissed at him, which frightened him, and he picked it up and forcefully shoved it in the aquarium. He said the reptile cut itself on the corner glass.
Caldwell said the snake’s injuries were not consistent with a glass cut.
In addition, two witnesses told investigators that they saw Langston with the snake in one hand and a butcher knife in the other when the incident took place.
If convicted of the misdemeanor offense, Langston could face up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $2,300.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Delaware SPCA at 998-2281.
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