Mohave County, Arizona – On Monday, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a 76-year-old California man who was found with caged cats and buckets of rattlesnakes in a truck that was parked in the sun for an “extended amount of time.” According to a release from the authorities, David Leslie Cox, of Hesperia, CA, is facing 22 counts of animal cruelty following his arrest on Saturday, June 20.
Cox’s truck held multiple cages of cats in the bed of his truck and a cage of kittens in the cab of the truck – one of the kittens had already passed away. After searching the vehicle, the snakes were discovered. The agency said:
After spending a lengthy amount of time removing the cats from the cab, AC Officers observed a small aquarium-type habitat inside the truck. AC Officers asked the owner what was inside, to which the owner hesitantly informed them it was a baby Mojave Green rattlesnake. Upon further inspection of the vehicle, multiple buckets with live and dead rattlesnakes were located in the vehicle.
The sheriff’s office provided the final tally of cats and snakes recovered from the vehicle:
At the conclusion of the search of the vehicle, 5 rattlesnakes (3 dead and 2 live), and 16 cats (9 adult, 6 kittens, 1 deceased kitten) were removed from the truck.
Adding:
Endangerment charges are being pursued due to the lack of notification of the rattlesnakes prior to the AC Officer entering the vehicle.
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