Burglary at Jeff Houston's place. Can anyone help?

[The BoidSmith]

As of 02/01

February 1st, 2004 REWARD NEWS
WOW……what a day yesterday was for us here at The Snake Keeper. The computer almost shut down it was so busy. There has just been an outpouring of support for the capture & conviction of those responsible for the theft of Jeff Houston’s snakes. A little background here for you that really do not know what is going on. Let me tell you about Jeff. I really can not remember when I met Jeff for the first time, sorry Jeff, but my first recollection was when he drove up to our place with his wife. They came here several years ago and bought a few possible het piebald ball python females from us. This was their beginning in the Ball Python world. Previously he was into large lizards. We have always kept in contact over the years. This past year he would call me telling me what his long term plans were and all. He was turning into a family guy. He was talking about it was time for he and his wife to have children and enjoy the benefits of family life. Then the talk started of moving out of California. He was looking at going to Washington. He even went there looking at land and all that. Came home made a plan and by now the first child was already on the way. I think he had a place picked out up in Washington and was getting some leads on a good job and even had an offer. He decided he was going to jump in the ball pythons with both feet and was out to spend some money. So he did and he bought a spider, Mojave, ghosts, pastels and a few normals I am sure. Now some of you must be thinking this is why we are putting together this reward because he spent allot of money here. Well you could not be further from the truth. He bought all those snakes from other breeders. So it is not that he spent the money here. Jeff & Rachel are just normal people who had the dream. He runs his own business and they are just trying like everyone else to get by every month. He had the dream that the snakes would be the vehicle to reach their goals. So Rachel supported him and they were on their way. He had emailed me just a week ago saying the Mojave was tail wrapping the female. The spider was not showing interest yet but was big enough and it was just a matter of time. The pastels were getting to work and the het pied was breeding the possible het females. So things were coming together just as they had hopped. It was looking like the goal was in sight. Then Rachel had a miscarriage a week ago and now the snakes were stolen. If you have ever lost a child or your snake you know this is not a good feeling. So here we are with a guy who lost it all. He did not call and ask for help. He called and said he had been robbed but that was all. As I said he was a great guy, he makes you laugh and he is fun to be around. So here we are now. Jeff has given us a reason to come together as a community and show support. This was not his idea; it was ours The Snake Keeper. He did not ask for it. I think he was surprised. I have been really moved by the donations that have been sent in from everyone, the kind words and everything. People who do not even have snakes are donating to the cause. Some can only afford $10 and all of it is appreciated at this time. Can you believe we raised 40K in one day? Today we will hit 50K! What an accomplishment to those who have come forward to show their support. I am grateful for you all. Thank you! It just goes to show that we are there to support those who are in the business/ hobby. These snakes are not cheap and many put their life savings into it in the hope that they can be like the big guys and sell a snake of their own for 5K or more some day. It is not just a dream it is a reality. We did it, we are proof of it. I want everyone who gets in this business to succeed. Again thanks to those that have supported this great cause. Lets see if it works and we catch the people. Thank you, Dan & Colette Sutherland

Thanks!

 

[Mickey_TLK]

Jeff

If you are reading this my heart goes out to you man, big time. As everyong else has said, I truely hope they catch this sob(s).

I had a similar (but luckily far less expensive) experience over 5 years ago (not sure anymore exactly when kinda block it out). I had started my first shop and in an attempt to "blow the locals minds" I decided to take all of my projects up to the shop for displays. After being open for about 8 mo, and with my first x mas in sight I was broken into, and everything was stolen. The total was not nearly as high as this situation, but it was all of my projects, and everything I had worked for, not to mention the store animals.

I felt horrible and quite angry to say the least. This all happened on my birthday (no longer a fun day....lol) I ended up closing the store shortly after, and have yet to replace many of the projects as I dont have the heart to work with them like I did before the theft. I also lost what I hoped would be my first succesfull year of production. Frilled, panthers, veileds, beardes, and more (again not quite as expensive). all gone, all animals I had raised as PETS from babies.

Sadly the cops did very little to help with the investigation, in fact they only hurt it. They went so far as to call the number one suspect and ask him if he did it?????? Idiots, but anyways. People didnt take it seriously, it was just a couple animals, no big deal.

In reality that was my future, much as this was Jeffs future that was stolen from him. No mad deserves that. I feel lucky that the amount was less, but more importantly that it happened at my store. I couldnt imagine haveing lost everything, but also haveing had it happen in my own HOME. The feeling of being "violated" for lack of a better word.

So please everyone give what you can, and remeber no matter how much someones animals are worth, they dont deserve this. The dollar amount makes it no more or less easy to swallow. This mans future was taken from him by some spineless coward, and thats sad.

I will finish by saying, Im glad you changed your tune vince, cause it was wearing thin. I understand you hesitance in a situation like this, but at a time like this in his life, Im sure the last thing Jeff wanted was to answer your questions. Sorry to bring that up again but that chapped my hide.

Mickey Hinkle
The Lizard King Reptiles

 

[David Reid]

I held my tongue, but after 9 pages...

V-,

What in the hell is a WROBERY?

 

[boaddict]

alarms systems are a joke

just listen to the police scanners most times it takes hours for them to respond

V in your case you got LUCKY any thief with any know how can get around an alarm system , you sound like a spokesperson for adt

i wouldnt waste my time with an alarm system but i might install some tiny hidden cameras , they wont stop the theft but it will be alot easier to identify the thief

i hope they catch the people esponsible for this as this is just so wrong, i know id be so mad if someone ripped me off .

 

[pappy1473]

research

I am sorry about your loss. It is more than obvious that whoever did this knew what that were after, and your typical petty thief would not of been after the snakes. Someone in the "herp community" did this. I would really look at my recent business transactions if I were you. Have you shipped any animals to people (somewhat local) that know what kind of collection you maintain?. They could have gotten your address on the mailing slip. Or local people ever come to your place to view/purchase your animals? Thats why I do not let people pick up animals locally (I meet them somewhere).. You never know who you can trust nowadays. I hope they find them!! Good luck
Shannon Richards
C&S Reptiles

 

[8BallPythons]

Re: alarms systems are a joke

i wouldnt waste my time with an alarm system but i might install some tiny hidden cameras , they wont stop the theft but it will be alot easier to identify the thief

I agree, hidden cameras are a smart move. More than a few with a hidden time lapsed digital recorder would make identifying/convicting the scum bags much easier.

I'm not a big fan of guard dogs because there are some really sick people out there that will certainly try and hurt/kill a dog that gets in their way.

I don't know if I agree about alarms being useless. A good wireless motion detection system with battery backup, auto-dialer (so that you will know the moment it happens), and a couple of high Db horns will scare off most of the amateurs. It will at least disorient them enough so that they will make mistakes and get out as quickly as they can.

Of course professional thieves could disarm even a well done alarm system, but then again, would a professional thief even bother with taking the chance? ... Any reasonably bright pro would realize how hard it would be to quickly move the animals and not get caught. And no one that knows what they are doing would sit on and care for snakes and risk getting busted with such easily identifiable stolen property. Not saying that it isn't possible, but I would think that 99% of the time its probably amateur hour and an alarm system would be helpful.

just my $.02

-adam

 

[JeffHouston]

WOW! Man that took me a longtime to read through. I am sorry I did not get here sooner, to help answer questions. Please understand that things are hectic here. I have piles of emails, web sites, etc to get to.
I don't know what I am doing, never been in this situation before. (wish I wasn't now) People have said I should have done this, I should have had that, on and on. I should have had an alarm. You ALL should. It is not that great but it does not hurt. I stopped using the alarm at my business because it was a joke. It went off all the time, cost me a fortune. ($100 everytime it went off and the police came and $150 a year permit fee, yes a permit fee for an alarm!)
I have a big dog, live in a nice area with small lots. The side yard is only 6 feet wide! (then another house!) I just did not think this was going to happen to me. I did not know it happened as much as it does either.
My wife and I had just got back from WA in Nov. We went up there to look at property. The plan was to move up there, build a snake facility on our property and set it all up right. (alarms, cameras, etc) We were trying to have our first baby and things looked good. Well, it turned out bad, not like we planned at all.
People should learn from this, I am happy that I can help others to secure themselves better. I can happen to you! Do what you can now.
With that said, it is good to have a "safer" house. You will never have a safe collection though. That is why we decided to go with this reward. We want these people caught, we want to see them in jail. We want the reptile industry to see them in prison. The next little punk that thinks stealing snakes is easy money, we want him to see these guys go down! We want to bring the thunder down on these guys. it will help everyone, all this hush-hush theft thing is worthless. It leaves people thinking these thefts are rare, they are not. It also leaves people thinking there is profit in snake theft. I hope these people learn how unprofitable snake theft is!
As for this being a scam, well it is not. I understand 100% why people are worried. I know there are slobs in this industry, it is OK to question me. I can assure you all, this is all real. There is no police report yet, sorry things just don't work that fast. I was able to get a detective assigned to this yesterday. I also spoke with the sgt. in charge of media for the Anaheim PD today. I am waiting to hear back.
In addition, I am trying to get a web site up, Dan and Colette have been so generous. I feel bad asking them for anything. I will have pictures up soon of all my snakes. I will post links to news articles, pictures, etc on the web site when they become available. Until then, if you think there is one of my animals for sale and you want to forward a picture to me, please do.
It is hard to work for so many years and have it crushed in one blow. Not only am I out lots of money, I owe money. That sucks, no way around it. The really bad part is the sick feeling I get when I go into my snake room. I just can't believe there is nothing else to look at, there were so many hopes and dreams, nothing there now. My wife and I have done without for several years to put more into the snakes. We thought, "why buy a new couch, or new this or that, lets put that money into the snakes, in a couple years we will reap our rewards". That just does not seem real anymore. Man, some of these snakes are the first balls I ever produced, I was proud of those!
My wife is now scared all the time, I had to come home early from work the other day so she could take a shower! She was afraid to take a shower in our house unless I was home! That is just not right.
One the bright side... my wife and I are Christians. We have faith in God. We think all things happen for a reason, we don't see it, we don't understand it but we BELIEVE it. Things WILL be Ok. We are both safe, my dog is safe. (cool bullmastif... Otis) Our plans are on hold, who knows what will be next for us. We will continue to have faith.
The out pouring of love and support has been awesome. We have had a great chance to see some heros in this industry and some zeros too. Many people who did not put up money for the reward have done things, many have asked not to be mentioned. When the dust settles I will put up as many stories as people will allow. At a time when many people are trying so hard to build up, some are trying to tear down. That is not right, I think those people will be suprised at the backlash. If nothing else comes of all this, I can say, there is no better industry. There are no better people. Lets focus on the good people have done, ignore the idiots. Shame on those who belittle our efforts and do nothing but pontificate and spew mean things.
Thank you to everyone, if you pledged money, great. If you could not or decided not to, that is fine. This pledge worked so much better than we expected. The fact is that the reptile community came out in force, they decided to take care of their own people. I respect that.
I will keep you all informed!
Thanks,
Jeff Houston

 

[David Reid]

I think Jeff brings up a point...

that is one of my "rules." DO NOT buy snakes with money you do not have, or take out a loan for snakes, saying $10K loan, 2 yrs., x amount of babies at $x, the loan will be paid back easily. Snakes can die, get stolen, just not breed, be poor eaters....My advice, buy what you can pay for, do not put a snake on the Credit Cards or take out a loan.

 

[JeffHouston]

There is lots to be said for not borrowing money for snakes. I thought long and hard before I did. I have a proven track record with reptiles, had a great facility, built up a nice collection and was ready to take it to the next step. If a snake died, I would have been OK. That is one reason I bought a spider and a mojave, if there was a problem, all would not be lost. I also should have produced pieds this year. I had several project going now and in the coming years.
I agree borrowing money is a risky thing. I don't think anyone should jump into an industry without putting their own money into it first.
It is part of doing business, when a small business needs funds, they borrow it. It is the same thing I do at my other business. When the shop needs a new truck, I finance one. If one of our shop trucks was stolen, I would be out a ton of cash too. They are loaded with parts, supplies, and tools. I know the insurance company would be a nightmare to work with.
BTW- I don't know if I mentioned it on any public forums but I DID try to get insurance on the reptiles. I was refused. I was dropped by the company I had, they stopped insuring in CA. I called over 40 companies and could not get insurance. I am do a remodel on my house, I did not know it at the time but you can't get insurance during a remodel. The house has to be all together for coverage to begin. (stupid I know, who would have thought!) I found only one company who did not care about the remodel and they will not insure reptiles. (or any pets)

 

[screamdreams]

Jeff...

It's nice to hear that your hanging in there. You did everything possible (I think) to discourage this type of thing happening, but sadly it did, and you have all of our condolescences (spelling???) I'd like to say a few quick words, and although I'm pretty sure you may have already had somebody tell you this or even thought it to yourself, it's what I would like to hear if I was in your shoes...even though things may seem real bad right now...the health of our loved ones, friends, and family is our most blessed gift of each day, when bad things have happened in my life I really try to re-evaluate the word 'bad', simply because 99.9% of the time...it could be worse. Well, it's nice to know you're handling it, and again I was very sickened by the news, you've been put threw some true 'tests' lately, in many aspects...hang tough...you got alot of friends, even though you haven't met all of them!! Take care!!

 

[David Reid]

I have not read all the posts

reguarding the reward, what is taking place with the investigation, etc. My question is this, what are the chances of getting the animals back? Worse case scenerio, if the snakes are not back in Jeff's possesion in say 6 months, are we going to have a snake drive, with people donating offspring to help rebuild the collection that was stolen?

 

[odatria]

Re: I have not read all the posts

reguarding the reward, what is taking place with the investigation, etc. My question is this, what are the chances of getting the animals back? Worse case scenerio, if the snakes are not back in Jeff's possesion in say 6 months, are we going to have a snake drive, with people donating offspring to help rebuild the collection that was stolen?

David, I am not sure if you are serious or not. SO I will assume that you meant that in a positive way. Of course we would like to see Jeff get his snakes back. But that is not the purpose of the reward. We want to see this guy in PRISON! PERIOD. The financial, psycholgical and emotional damage this guy has placed on the Houstons is shameful. Im shure that getting back their snakes would ease part of the stress. But seeing this guy locked up would ease ALOT of the stress.

As far as a snake drive is concerned, I dont see it happening on an organized level. But I can tell you right now that I have talked to a few people that have allready contacted Jeff with offers of replacing his animals. If there were a "snake drive" people would certainly take advantage of it. Imagine people faking burglaries just to get some free animals. It WOULD happen. But it would be far less likely to happen if we just stick to this method.

But hey, if you want to give him animals to help him rebuild, go for it. I know Im going to offer. This last part isnt directed to you Dave but at those reading this thread in general. "Please dont let this turn into a "he is going to use the reward money to rebuild" because that wouldnt be right. Jeff is a man of integrity, and anyone who trys to turn it into anything shady is not.

Sincerely,

Michael.

 

[David Reid]

I was being serious...

A friend of mine knows Jeff, and says he is a great guy. I see the reward money being put up, to help catch the thieves...all well and good. BUT, (this may not be easy to read) what if the snakes are not found, even if the thief is caught, or worse yet, found in horrible conditions, sick or dying? The guy who did it is put in jail, but Jeff still may not have his snakes back. I am thinking of how to help rebuild his collection on the off chance that the snakes are not found.

David Reid

 

[David Reid]

Any update?

And, since the punishment should fit the crime, I say if the thief is ever caught, we find the biggest retic, and stuff the person in with the retic for a month,,,,if the person lives, they go free, if not, poetic justice



Dave

 

[Greg Riso]

What's Wrong With a Snake Drive?

I don't know Jeff or his wife but they certainly sound like decent people that have been through way to much pain recently. Between losing their unborn child, being violated with a break in and losing their snake collection nothing would make me happier than to help out fellow herpers in need. What happened to the Houstons could happen to any one of us at any moment and it is a nightmare I've thought about more than once. If this were to happen to me I would only hope that people would step up to the plate and help me out if I needed it. I appreciate the scrimping and saving and doing without it takes to build a dream and it's apparent the Houstons had worthy goals and were well on their way. Unfortunately, it only took some a-hole low lifes a short time to ruin that for them.
I am happy to say I pledged money towards their reward fund but unfortunately it's only going to help if someone's arrested and convicted. While there is some solace to be gained from someone being prosecuted that still does not replace the financial loss involved.
With this said I'm more than willing to help out by personally donating animals worth a significant amount of money. They can be resold or used as future breeders. I could do so by sending them directly to Jeff and his wife or offer them up for sale here and send them the proceeds.
Jeff, I sincerely would like to help out if possible. I believe one man can make a difference. If you will please contact me I'd like to prove it. God bless you both. My prayers are with you.

 

[Vince]

hey dave that is a pretty damn good idea. I meen this is a good guy who got stuck my life. what is it for a couple of breeders to donate a baby or two , i meen jeff would have to start from scratch raiseing them up but in a year or two he this whole thing would just be a set back. I wish i was in a position to help out with some snakes. I say it like this, give him a baby now and when he produces babys of his own he will return the favor. its kind of like letting him borrow a snake so he can get things rolling again.

 

[dwedeking]

The local Fox station covered the theft last night (one of the reasons for the reward was to draw the media attention to the situation). I received a number of calls this morning wondering if I had viewed it (didn't because I was working late) but from those outside the herp world they said that it was well done and stressed the importance of finding who did this. One of the fears of dealing with the press is that they'll spin the story about those "weird reptile people" and in this case that wasn't done.

Hopefully this will help turn up who did this.

 

[Vince]

i bet those slime balls didnt expect to make the news.

 

[The BoidSmith]

The local Fox station covered the theft last night (one of the reasons for the reward was to draw the media attention to the situation). I received a number of calls this morning wondering if I had viewed it (didn't because I was working late) but from those outside the herp world they said that it was well done and stressed the importance of finding who did this. One of the fears of dealing with the press is that they'll spin the story about those "weird reptile people" and in this case that wasn't done.

Daniel,

It is good to hear that the pledge served at least it's initial purpose. Glad to hear that it was also done in a profession manner.

Regards.

 

[Laura Fopiano]

Wow, the word is getting out to the public!! On ABC News they just put out the story about Jeff and his stolen snakes. I hope that they catch the @$$ holes that did this to you Jeff!!
By the way I have a pair of pos het's for snow that I will give to you, we all need to stick together!!!
Keep us updated! Laura Cox