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Man arrested after stroll with python in Mastic
Police arrested a Wading River man Tuesday who was walking down the Montauk Highway with this Burmese python wrapped around his body. (Photo by James Carbone / January 15, 2008)
BY CARL MACGOWAN |
carl.macgowan@newsday.com
9:40 PM EST, January 15, 2008
Snakes alive!
A Wading River man was under arrest Tuesday for walking along Montauk Highway in Mastic with a 14-foot Burmese python wrapped around him, Suffolk police said.
Curtis Dewberry, 35, and the 70-pound serpent were out for a stroll when an officer for the Suffolk Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Shawn Dunn, spotted them at 2:30 p.m., authorities said.
Dewberry was charged by police with animal cruelty and failure to protect the public against dangerous wildlife, both misdemeanors. He was expected to face state environmental charges for not having a license to keep a dangerous animal.
Each state charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail or $1,000 fine.
The snake will be sent to an out-of-state reptile habitat, said SPCA Capt. Robert Aversano. Dewberry, who had the snake since it was a baby, lost custody of the python because it was "a danger to the public," Aversano said.
He was charged with animal cruelty because the 14-year-old snake had bruises on its body and because Dewberry took it outside on a cold day, he said.
Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and need temperatures of at least 45 degrees to survive, Aversano said.
"The fact that he was out in the cold weather was not good for the animal," he said, adding that the snake was "resting comfortably."
Dewberry could not be reached for comment. He was held at the 7th Precinct in Shirley pending arraignment.
Burmese pythons, one of the world's largest snakes, can grow to more than 20 feet in length. It can inflict severe bites and suffocates its prey, which can include small and large animals. Dewberry "said he fed him a chicken once a month," Aversano said.
A witness to the arrest said he saw Dewberry near Carpet Express at 1135 Montauk Hwy. Dewberry seemed to be a nice guy who meant no harm, said the witness, who didn't want to be identified.
"He was just walking by with a snake. He wasn't doing anything wrong," the witness said.
"I asked him, 'Is that real?' And he said, 'Yeah.' Next thing I know, he was being arrested."
Photo:
Police arrested a Wading River man Tuesday who was walking down the Montauk Highway with this Burmese python wrapped around his body. (Photo by James Carbone / January 15, 2008)
oh well
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