Just a bit of a confirmation on some of the statements here. I've elected not to post my own personal dealings with John, leaving it up to Officer Carr of the Orange County Animal Control and the Commonwealth Attorney to handle things.
I will confirm that it was far less than 30% dead unless they found only eight animals. The number found dead that Officer Carr gave me was two instead of four (a minor difference). Fortunately, they haven't lost any of the animals since they have been in custody.
The Orange County clerk stated that John is charged with four counts of animal cruelty - a far cry from the oringal claim in this thread of 52, particularly given that each conviction can entail a maximum jail sentence of one year.
He also informed me that all of the animals they rescued had respiratory infections and mites. Some also had lesions from improper caging that led to a build up of bad sheds.
I did not get into the specifics of what animals are in custody, nor the numbers of each species. It seemed inappropriate given that both the officer and Commonwealth attorney have requested a statement regarding my interaction with John.
As for obtaining any animal you may have purchased from Animal Control: I was told that there are too many claims coming in, often for the same animal, and it would be impossible for them to decide actual ownership when more than one person has paid for the same snake.
I do question the validity in anything else stated in the original post given how far off the two things I do know about are from the truth. I don't expect to post again unless someone else makes another wildly inaccurate claim about the situation.
If anyone would like to contact me, please do so at
[email protected]. I have been keeping close tabs on the situation and am also keeping contact with another in similar straits.