A wildlife trapper in Bradenton who staged the capture of his own 14-foot python for publicity was charged this week with a pair of criminal offenses.
Justin Matthews, 47, 7416 41st Ave., E., Bradenton, was charged with one count of misusing a 911 emergency system, a third-degree felony and one count of maintaining captive wildlife in an unsafe manner, a second-degree misdemeanor.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation into the staged capture of the Burmese python on July 25, ended with charges being filed on Wednesday, the agency said in a news release issued today.
The staged capture came at a time when pythons were garnering high profile headlines, from establishing themselves in the Everglades to one pet python in Sumter County killing a 2-year-old child.
Matthews called the media to a Bradenton neighborhood to photograph him capturing the reptile that was in a drainage pipe. He said that he had gotten reports of the snake in the area and that he was there as a public service. The footage, photographs and stories made national headlines.
Investigators learned that the trapper had purchased the snake a month earlier and put it there for the publicity generated by the capture. After the hoax was revealed, Matthews said that he staged the event to put a spotlight on the problems of irresponsible python ownership and how dangerous the constrictors can be.
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