By Mitchell Willetts
Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
CYPRESS, Texas — A Texas man was arrested after deputies found guns, drugs, and exotic snakes slithering around in his car during a recent traffic stop, officials say.
Deputies pulled over the driver on a freeway near Cypress, a suburb of Houston roughly 30 miles northwest from the city’s downtown, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 said in a Dec. 27 news release shared on Facebook.
Deputies learned the man had an open felony warrant, and they searched his vehicle, uncovering a loaded rifle caliber pistol and unspecified drugs — and also three pythons in the back seat, photos show.
It’s “definitely not your typical traffic stop,” the precinct said.
“OMG I would have to quit my police job and run for the moon,” a commenter wrote on the precinct’s post.
“He thought nobody would check vehicle with snakes in it,” said another.
The driver was arrested for unlawful carrying of a weapon and illegal narcotics, according to the release.
It’s not clear why the man had snakes — which appear to be ball pythons — loose in the car. The reptiles were turned over to a family member at the scene, deputies said.
Ball pythons are native to Africa , though they’ve been a popular pet across the world for decades. They are nonvenomous and are generally considered docile, according to experts.
___
(c)2024 the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
Visit the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.) at www.mercedsunstar.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
