Bad Guy Beware of Jerry Kruse

[Lucille]

Is this Jerry's site? I looked in on the blog but didn't really see his name posted on the site, maybe I was looking in the wrong place http://www.zonatas.com/

 

[Desert Queen]

Yes. For some real entertainment, visit his blog page.

 

[bobtard]

From his blog.

The good, the bad, and the ugly . . . .
Posted on February 27, 2012 at 2:30 AM

It is SO sad to see SO many fall to the wayside based upon speculation, half-truths, and some just plain ass-kissing to keep good relations with others for personal interest -- especially a few whom I was once becoming quite close to. You know who you are, & whom have even purchased some of my snakes in years past and report NO problems with them. What's more, someone (RS) who just several short years ago was gung-ho in getting zonata from me who eventually backed out after months of communication with me because of family medical issues. Never, not once, had an issue with me yet jumps in on the utter craziness to try and practically e-lynch me. LOL. I'm just speechless. Some clearly have a personal matter at hand here, for whatever their reason. I really do not care anymore as I have tried to reason with whom this problem began with & full well knowing that I have NEVER done anything to harm this individual -- unless you consider disagreeing with you or selling zonata a personal attack. Indeed, the simplistically-stupid root of all this has turned into nothing more than a ploy to be vindictive and slanderous...and for WHAT I don't know. Why not target OTHERS who have either free or w/c or (God-forbid) purchased zonata with FULL intentions of breeding them and selling the offspring?! Why just me with the fucking bullseye on my back? Just a cauldron of hatred, when I've done NOTHING to cause intentional harm to anyone. NOTHING. Yet you try to pin on me some form of "issue" or "problem", which I may add, you've caused many others to believe. Now THAT is sickening. Regardless, whether it be the academic prowess stashed into one's pocket or the rat/s following behind the academic pied-piper, whatever I say is worthless I'm sure. You're way too far into your trail of intentional destruction to look back and re-think how assinine this has all been......all over former disagreements and this idiotic behavior to make me out to be a bad guy when I ,again, haven't done anything to harm anyone. PERIOD. But yet it's been made to believe that "I'm doing it to myself"? Sure, go and tell a few BS lies (which one of the rat pack is infamous for...) or misconstrue something I say and twist it........SURE, it looks bad! But I challenge anyone who feels I've intentionally screwed or hurt them in the past to come forward and call me personally and discuss it. Aside from the complainant in this current situation, I bet that damn phone of mine won't ring........not once.

Getting back to the current scenario.........

There are two sides to every story, and I have mine. I also have clear documentation that I HAVE, indeed, tried to maintain contact with the complainant as well as have a clear timeline of communication which clearly shows how things went from 0 - 60 over the span of two weeks and subsequent to the complainants clear expressions of "I'm less worried Jerry, they're eating, shedding out fine, and looking like they're on the mend". I acknowledge that I also did voice MY frustrations, respectfully, in this whole process -- which unfortunately were not received well by the complainant. I believe he wanted me to say "how high" when he said "jump". No, I'm sorry - that is not how I operate. Again, I have clear and concise documentations of every transaction, each dated accordingly, between myself and the complainant. Moreover, I have sold clutchmates of the complainant's specimens to another gentleman whom, following exactly how I keep mine, has expressed NO problems whatsoever with his babies and updates me almost bi-weekly on them out of sheer excitement of having them. This gentleman (along with several other prior interested parties over the years) had also been to my home just this past November 2011, along with a very close friend of his, and has had the opportunity to observe each and every snake I have. The collection is in pristine condition, and I can have more than one individual attest to this. This is why my conscience is clear. What is being described by the complainant is a SYMPTOM of something, which is an appearance of dehydration expressed as dry skin. There ARE NO motor-action issues or neurological compromises at all. They are feeding, and as described by the complainant to me in more than one communication they "appear to be on the mend". I do not know exactly what happened in the two weeks the complainant had them, despite his years of experience of breeding alterna, tropical milks, etc. From what I was told via text messages, the complainant stated he kept the snakes in shoeboxes that could go as high as 82F on one end and as low as 72F on the other. At first I felt a bit uncomfortable with this, but considering how the complainant became a bit irritated with my initial concern for his receiving these snakes by my repeated reminders of how they're feeding and the need to give them a bit more TLC, etc etc, I decided to not ruffle any feathers and let it go as he assured me that he had "hunted zonata in their natural habitat & has kept zonata in years past". These animals were in MINT condition upon being sent, having left being in my care post-hatch for just over 4 months to get them started feeding voluntarily for the complainant. I even threw in an additional hetero female snake as well at no cost. At NO point in time did these snakes show ANY sign of problems and were even photo-posted on the KS forum for all to see their progress. The complainant reported they were feeding well and thriving. Two weeks pass and the problem begins and here we are NOW.

Subsequent to my request to take the snakes back to work with (which I may add that if I felt it WERE the highly-speculated "ZD" I would NOT be offering to have them returned in the first place), the complainant stated via email that he would not send the snakes back to me ON THE MORNING OF EXPECTED SHIPMENT stating he's changed his mind because he was "feeling more confident after their recent shed & continued to feel as if they were on the mend". I expressed a bit of discomfort in this, still stating that I'd prefer to take the snakes at this point while expressing MY frustrations in the complainants impulsivity from being "confident that the snakes were on the mend" to admittingly going to the forum to "pressure me and teach me a lesson" within a 2 week period of time. The complainant states that he'd tried to reach me via text before going to the forum, however my cellular phone was down for about 2 weeks upon return from being away for the 2011 holidays out-of-country. So, I also requested from the complainant to re-send me that attempted text contact I had never received so that I could read what he was trying to tell me. Instead of allowing me to have the opportunity to see what he'd texted me, the complainant then angrily shot back demanding that I no longer make any contact with him, acknowledging he'd gone to the forums to "pressure me" in returning the money immediately, and stating that he hopes I've "learned my lesson". Well I contacted my cellular carrier and got hold of that un-received text sent by the complainant on 1/26/12 -- it clearly stated toward the end that "the fact that they are all feeding well and shedding tells me that they are on the mend". Just a short 11 days later on 2/6/12, with NO OTHER means of communication attempted to reach me whatsoever, the complainant impulsively jumps onto the forum and here we are today. He could have emailed me or tried to call and leave a voice message, but only texted me (which I only learned of about ten days ago) indicating that all was looking better. I have maintained contact with the complainant, tried to work this through calmly & rationally, & continued offering to work with the snakes for as long as necessary after having them returned to me taking this one step at a time. Nothing more, nothing less. Even after the complainant advised to me to not contact him anymore, I STILL sent two emails asking to be rational about this and to please send the snakes back....and to no avail. Yet I'm the bad guy???

 

[Wilomn]

Still hearing nonsense.....
Posted on May 12, 2011 at 1:08 AM
Ahhhhh yes, the rumors continue to fly around. I am turning a deaf ear to it once and for all. The bottom line is, with my modest collection, I'm only producing perhaps 4 or 5 clutches annually. Realistically, I couldn't handle more than that with juggling a full-time career and being a full time husband and daddy. Considering the amount of TLC and time I put into these fine babies, which is way more than you'd find anywhere else, I often lose sleep some nights in order to make available not only some of THE finest babies but also well-started, worry-free babies that will make their way into your home. So carry on folks, believe what you will. I just spent yet ANOTHER near-45 minutes explaining to someone tonight my defense, and I'm getting SO SO sick of it. Perhaps re-read what i've posted below, because I'm just not going to repeat myself anymore. It's not that I'm being obnoxious or belligerent, I'm just tired of it all. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, and when the smoke clears I will still be standing and doing what I love and what I do best -- PERIOD.

_______________________________________________________________

The above is taken directly, word for word, from his blog.

Seems that last year he was having problems too.

VERY interesting...

 

[StuTennyson]

Here's a link to better pics (I hope).

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1965674,1965674

 

[joecop]

If people are getting actual threats, contact the police and have him charged. I know if someone threatens me or my family I will protect myself and my family with EXTREME prejudice and I advise others to do the same. Save all emails, phone records, and text messages. That is rediculous to stoop to threats because of ones bad business practices. Grow up.


Joe

 

[Mitchell Mulks]

It was stupid of me, and inconsiderate, to not get permission first to share that text message. I feel badly enough about it, but now that he's being threatened I feel even worse! The threats he's getting now are my fault and I'll take the blame on that one. Btw, does anyone know the laws regarding text and email threats being made to your person? I think some states call it felony threats, which carries the penalty of a felony. Does anyone know if receiving physical threats in this manner is illegal and a prosecutable offense?

Mitch

 

[Neon]

Btw, does anyone know the laws regarding text and email threats being made to your person? I think some states call it felony threats, which carries the penalty of a felony. Does anyone know if receiving physical threats in this manner is illegal and a prosecutable offense?

Mitch

They treat it akin to "cyber bullying" now which means in most places it's a chargeable offense.

 

[East_Coast]

Because I know what I know this thread has been as joy to read.
I know that third-party situations are not allowed on here so all I can add is that this whole thread has been a long time coming.

You did this to yourself.... now you eat it "Jer".

 

[East_Coast]

Stu, Let me clarify: I am not happy about what happened to you and your snakes... just glad to see the bad guy get his.

I feel bad for you and I am sorry that you had to participate in this and spend your time on this.

 

[Lucille]

Stuart,

Texas has some powerful consumer protection including the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act which can under certain circumstances provide for triple damages and attorney costs. I am not advising you, merely putting it out here as a good read.
The actual Act is very long but this is an interesting explanation:https://www.oag.state.tx.us/agency/weeklyag/2009/1109deceptivetrade.pdf

 

[Snake-Queen]

As a side note, I feel like this thread is going to become exponentially more exciting when he responds. Lol.

If is probably a better word to use.

Sorry Rick Mcjimsey, thanks for the copy & paste, but my eyes crossed & rolled into the back of my head by the second paragraph. Someone definitely has delusions of grandeur to think that EVERYONE is out to get him.

 

[Neon]

If is probably a better word to use.

Well hey now, if we keep adding pressure his busy life will prevent him from spending the 5 minutes to copy/paste e-mails and write a quick response! ;]

 

[JerryKruse]

Good evening,

in a way I am glad that I haven't replied instantly as it has allowed everyone to vent their "feelings".....some more, and some MUCH more, than others. It has also allowed me to get the usual important everyday life things to get done which are inevitable, as I do not sit in front of a computer all day. Lastly, it has allowed me to take this all into perspective so that I can respond in a clear, concise way without allowing emotion to drive my response. NY has a way of making folks potty-mouthed when frustrated.

This also may be part of everyone's frustration, particularly Stu's, that I don't respond immediately -- sometimes it takes days on end. But I assure you it is NOT forgotten about and I will be providing a FULL reply by weeks' end. I thank you for your patience.

Stu, you are more than welcome to send the animals back to me so I may work with them as previously agreed prior to you having changed your mind. Let me know if and when you do so I may receive them accordingly.

 

[Christina Vincent]

Unless a refund is given I would not send the animals anywhere. IF sick, seek a vets diagnosis. But don't reship the snakes. The stress if they are ill would only compound the problems and the last thing you want is a sicker or dead animal. Should a vet clear disease, I probably still wouldn't send um back without a refund 1st. Not a dig at Jerry either, wouldn't matter the seller if I had had issues during the original transaction. BOI taught me that

 

[Christina Vincent]

Jerry..most of us don't sit at a computer all day. I myself take care of my 2 yr old and 3 yr old AND work 2 jobs on top of that and I am positive many of the people responding here have busy lives too. Technology allows me to keep in contact with what interests me, and others I'm sure. It only take a moment to respond to things for some of us and with phones, email, pms, text, snail mail - there really isn't an excuse not to respond to someone for days on end except you don't care enough to take that moment. Tho it was nice of you to inform everyone you may take some time this week to do it.

 

[JerryKruse]

Well Christina, I am sorry that I am not you. We all work differently and prioritize differently. Having said that, I will speak to everyone when I have the time to respond to everything -- which I personally don't think should be done with haste. Until then...

 

[Christina Vincent]

no need to apologize to me, They broke the mold with me (bah-hahaha always wanted to say that). Teasin aside, just saying, don't have to be at a computer all day and from an outsiders veiw the lag in response def shows this is not on your priority list (we knew that too tho based on the OP coming here ad after months Still has an issue. )

 

[Bill T]

Nothing with a contagious disease should ever be shipped. It would be best to find out what they have first.

 

[StuTennyson]

I hope these pics come through. I took them this morning. This snake just shed last night for the 3rd time. As you can see it still has a serious problem. The first time it shed I thought it might be improving but instead it hit a plateau. It doesn't seem to be improving. The others are about the same. I know I may have communicated to Jerry in some early correspondence that I thought they might be on the mend because after the first shed they did show some improvement. But as you can see by this latest pic they are not improving. This is a snake that just shed last night and look at the eye caps!

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/photo.php?id=420295

Jerry-I do not want to ship them back to you for a couple of reasons. I don't want to stress them out anymore and all I want at this point is a refund. As I stated before even if they survive this problem I will not be able to sell their babies to anyone in good conscience and they were purchased from you as an investment as well as for my enjoyment. Send me a refund and I will send you the snakes. Stu