Snake Sting : Cracking Down on Those Who Sell Reptiles Illegally, California DFG Hopes to Stifle Black Market Trade

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” Sherlock Holmes turns a murderer’s deadly snake against him to a horrible but just conclusion.

The California Department of Fish and Game last week used a similar way of dealing with people who would exploit reptiles for personal gain, but that particular drama has drawn mixed reviews. Operation King Rosy resulted in the arrests of 13 people in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange Counties and the confiscation of more than 200 snakes, 124 of them from one Fullerton man.

They ranged in market value from an estimated $5 to $200. Pregnant snakes that produce 50 babies at a time are worth three or four times the usual price.

Except for a dozen rattlers possessed by a Banning juvenile, the creatures involved were non-venomous and the alleged crimes were misdemeanors, each count subject to a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine, six months in jail or both. Most of the 13 people--a $2,500 warrant is still out for a 14th--were charged with violating Section 40.15 (a) (1) of the state Fish and Game Code, which states: “It is unlawful to sell, purchase, or offer for sale . . . any reptiles taken under authority of this section.”

State law says certain reptiles may be taken from the wild but they may not be sold, and each has a bag limit, just the same as fish. In fact, a fishing license ($23.90) is required.

However, a 1992 law grants permits for the breeding in captivity and subsequent sale of three species of snakes: the rosy boa constrictor, the California kingsnake and the gopher snake.

The problem is trying to distinguish a wild snake from a captive-bred snake. The DFG suspects that many wild snakes are “laundered” through legitimate breeders or dealers before being sold to collectors.

With dense fog lending a Holmesian flair, 25 wardens and eight U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents and biologists simultaneously sprang their traps early one morning, culminating more than four months of investigation. The DFG’s aim was to cripple what it perceived to be the “black market trade” of snakes in Southern California.

The warrants were issued and the sweep was centered in Riverside County, the scene of the alleged crimes. Experts say the best place in the state--perhaps in the country--to find snakes is Whitewater Canyon near the intersection of Interstate 10 and California 111 between Cabezon and Palm Springs.

The second-best place, apparently, is the Recycler--a classified ad tabloid sold at news stands for $1.65.

“That’s one of the main connections for people to sell these things,” says Mike Ellis, who owns the Strickly Reptiles store in Riverside. “I always see native-caught snakes in there.

“It (ticks) me off. The reasons the laws are there are to conserve the natural resources. It’s not good for business, either. We get stuff legally and we’re breeding in captivity to sell stuff that’s legal, and people are on the black market selling wild-caught stuff.”

The Recycler prints a disclaimer at the top of its “rabbits & other pets” listings alerting readers to the little-known laws, but Eleanor Gipson, owner of Loyd’s Reptiles in Lakewood, also says the DFG has cause to be concerned about a suspected black market operating in an expanding snake subculture.

“You bet,” she said. “It’s booming. There are clubs and organizations that have worked hard to legalize the sale of captive-born snakes. Then these goofballs go out and capture them just to resell them.”

Said Ralph Crouch, a past president of the Southern California Herpetological Assn. based in Long Beach: “People have been doing this stuff forever. I don’t go up and down Whitewater (Canyon). There’s too much traffic. But this is the first time I’ve heard of (the DFG) being out there.”

*

King Rosy was partly a sting operation. Warden John Nores, in plainclothes, sold a longnose snake to Scott Alexander, 37, owner of a new, exotic-reptile store in Canyon Lake. DFG Lt. Dave Smith had caught the snake. With his wife and two young sons watching, Alexander was arrested at his home in an upscale, gated development, then taken to his store for interrogation. He was not handcuffed and was cooperative.

“I wanted (publicity) on the store, but not like this,” Alexander said. “It’s the only (snake) I ever bought, and it just happened to be this guy. I just feel sick inside right now.”

Lewis Souder, 32, was arrested at his apartment in Fullerton. Authorities carried out 124 snakes, most of them newborns, in well-kept glass and plastic containers.

Souder had bought a wild rosy boa from plainclothes DFG warden Jerry Karnow for $20. His wife, Adrienne, was distraught, especially when two reporters approached.

“No newspapers!” she said.

Souder asked her, “Why?”

“Because I’ve got family, you’ve got family.”

“They’re going to write it up, anyway. I’d like to say something positive. I’m going to tell ‘em that I’m totally against people that poach animals . . . take ‘em out of the wild. I’ve called CalTIP twice to tell about people doing this. I’m a captive breeder. I sell captive-bred babies. I’ve gone to schools, talked to kindergarten kids, second- and third-graders, and done shows for them.

“(But) I did wrong. I (also) have over my limit. (And) I didn’t get a permit to breed.”

Later that day, after several other newspaper and TV reporters had descended upon him, Souder said: “It’s really getting blown out of proportion.”

He asked a reporter: “Can you mention that I’m an Eagle Scout?”

*

Face it, snakes have a lousy reputation. Was that being confused with the people who had them? None of those arrested had other warrants outstanding. All were released without bail, on their own recognizance, pending arraignment next month.

Smith said of Alexander: “I’m not saying he’s a dangerous criminal, (but) he’s in the business and he knows the law.

“Some people might say: ‘Who cares if they wipe out all the snakes? I hate snakes.’ But they’re a vital part of the food chain. Snakes belong to all the people of California. Why should somebody make a few hundred dollars a month off your snakes?”

Said Crouch: “There’s a big black market, but I don’t think they got the right people.”

Then, who are the right people?

“I don’t know,” Crouch said. “But it sounds like they got hobbyists that were just out there.”

Smith said that one of those arrested wasn’t really interested in snakes but just handed over the money to a warden for his friend.

Adrienne Souder said: “All the (TV) channels are making it sound like everybody that got busted was all tied in together in a big underground snake ring. They set up a lot of good people who are into the care and love of reptiles.

“People out there who poach animals don’t care about them. They just want the money for them. My husband’s being made out to be this criminal, which isn’t true.”

If Souder did buy a snake from the DFG warden, Adrienne Souder said: “Lewis took it because he knew it would be taken care of, that it wouldn’t just be sold for money. They totally entrapped everybody.”

Entrapment is a charge often raised in sting operations.

“It didn’t start out (as a sting),” Smith said. “It started out to see what was involved. We had heard things. (As for entrapment,) it is not illegal for us to provide the opportunity.”

Said Pat Erickson, the Riverside County deputy district attorney who requested the arrest warrants from the county municipal court: “There is no evidence that the wardens did anything to encourage or entice (those arrested) to do anything they weren’t about to do, anyway.”

She added: “I hope because of this roundup that the word gets out that we’re watching them. People are bringing their whole families out for an evening drive, rolling over rocks and stripping the desert of these species. The black market is incredible.”

Crouch believes it will destroy itself.

“With the breeding they allow us to do now, within two or three years the market will be so flooded with legal baby offspring that it won’t be worth their while to go out and catch this stuff,” he said.

“It’ll happen real fast. It’ll help the native animals wherever they are. It’s not cost-effective for (people) to catch ‘em and import ‘em, so the animals stay where they belong.”

Said Smith: “We’ve done what we set out to accomplish. That was to explore the situation, find what was going on and, as the operation went deeper, we said let’s tell these people in a way they’ll understand that we’re not going to allow it . . . that the rest of the reptile-collecting community will get the message that they’re going to have to read the rules and abide by the rules. We don’t care if it’s a $5 snake or a $500 snake. We mean business.”