Ramona

The friend of a Ramona man who left a live rattlesnake in a box for his mother was ordered Friday to perform 20 days of public service work for his role in the bizarre incident.

Three years’ probation was granted to David Paul Pocock, 20, of Ramona, and a 180-day jail sentence was suspended by San Diego Municipal Judge Herbert Exarhos.

Pocock also was fined $700, and the judge told him he must not own a “venomous serpent” or drink alcohol during his probation.

Because he is a British citizen, Pocock could be deported because of his felony conviction of assault with a deadly weapon.

Pocock said little during the sentencing, but when he pleaded guilty to the charge he said he only meant to scare Bernice Eldridge, 51, of Ramona, not kill her.

“It was a prank, though not well thought out,” said Exarhos, who noted that the rattlesnake’s venom had been milked before it was placed in the box.

Meanwhile, Eldridge’s son, Marvin Howard Pruitt II, 28, is undergoing a diagnostic study at Chino State Prison before his sentencing Feb. 26. He also pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon.

Pruitt left the box for his mother on Aug. 4 in her driveway, saying, “Here’s the pictures you wanted.” Eldridge, instead, called sheriff’s deputies, and a deputy found the snake with its rattle cut off in the box.

Pruitt could receive four years in state prison. His attorney, Ronald Brahms, maintained the incident was Pocock’s idea.

Exarhos also ordered Pocock not to associate with Pruitt or have any contact with his mother and to stay away from bars or liquor stores.

He set a review date for June 5, to review the sentence. Pocock’s felony conviction could be reduced to a misdemeanor if he is successful on probation after 18 months.