Wrangling the Snake Rustlers

By Evin Oneale, Regional Conservation Educator, Southwest Region More than two years of determined investigative work by a small group of Fish and Game conservation officers and federal agents has led to the conviction of four individuals, with actions pending against one more, all involved in the illegal collection, possession and selling of reptiles. A Citizens Against Poaching (CAP) call started it all. The case is one for the record books. During the course of "Operation Sneaky Snake," a record 569 violations were detected, including 113 felonies against five individuals. In June 2004, a Citizens Against Poaching (C.A.P.) call was received by Idaho Fish and Game regarding the possible illegal sale of an American crow. Fish and Game conservation officer Bob Sellers investigated the tip, and found that the illegal transaction was in the works. He issued warnings to both individuals involved and also learned that the buyer, Sarah R. Kafel, 27, of Mountain Home, was hoping to trade some reptiles from her personal collection for the crow. Sellers explained to Kafel that protected reptiles could not be legally traded or sold in Idaho. Just one month later Kafel posted an advertisement in the local paper offering to sell some of her reptiles. U.S. Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer Scott Kabasa noticed the advertisement and brought it to the attention of Fish and Game conservation officer Charlie Justus. Their investigation of Kafel and her attempt to illegally sell reptiles in Idaho quickly broadened to encompass four other individuals. One of the four - Russell G. "Russ" Jones, 36, of Star, was already quite familiar to Justus and other Fish and Game officers. He had been convicted in 1998 for illegally collecting and possessing a variety of reptiles including endangered desert tortoises, rattlesnakes and Gila monsters collected in Arizona. During the investigation, it was determined that Kafel, Jones and the other players in Operation Sneaky Snake were well versed but simply ignoring the rules governing the collecting, housing and trade in reptiles. It also came to light that many of the snakes and lizards in Jones' current collection were from Arizona and Nevada, two states that allow for the collection of reptiles, but prohibit the sale of collected specimens. Additionally, none of the specimens collected from outside Idaho had proper import permits. Jones and Kafel remained the focus of the investigation until Jones found himself in jail, charged with an unrelated criminal felony. That event actually led to the widening of the reptile case against Jones as Justus learned where Jones' inventory of snakes and reptiles was being housed during his incarceration. Justus determined that Joaquin C. "Jack" Coronado, 35, of Nampa, Arthur J. "Jared" Aicher, 35, of Boise and Craig L. Carpenter, 35, of Mountain Home were housing and caring for Jones' collection of venomous and non-venomous snakes and lizards, including a rare Mojave green rattlesnake (found only in Nevada), sidewinder and great basin rattlesnakes, a Utah mountain kingsnake (a protected species in Nevada), rubber boas and collared lizards. Permits were lacking for all the species imported from other states. Now armed with all the evidence he needed, Justus requested and received four search warrants from Ada, Canyon and Elmore counties. The warrants were served simultaneously on September 23, 2005 on the homes of Coronado, Aicher, Carpenter and Kafel. More than 180 venomous and non-venomous snakes were seized from the four residences. Between May and July of 2006, portions of the investigation were finalized, and Justus began handing off his case files against the five individuals to Ada, Canyon and Elmore County Prosecutors. The case load against Russ Jones was daunting: he faced 238 separate violations, including 60 felonies. Under a plea-bargain agreement, Jones pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges in Canyon County court on August 25, 2006: - Import 38 snakes and lizards into Idaho without permit. - Aid and abet in the taking/possession of 43 snakes and lizards in Idaho without a license. - Sell/offer for sale 66 snakes and lizards from Idaho, Nevada and Arizona. - Possess one Utah Mountain Kingsnake unlawfully collected in Nevada. - Aid and abet the possession of 41 venomous snakes in unlocked/unlawful cages. For his role in Operation Sneaky Snake, Jones received a lifetime hunting and fishing license revocation, 90 days in jail (to be served concurrent with his sentencing the same day for domestic battery), fines and penalties totaling $5,400 ($3,750 suspended), $1,338 in restitution to Idaho Fish and Game for expenses incurred during the investigation, and two years of unsupervised probation. He also cannot possess any snakes or lizards for two years, and cannot be in the company of anyone with snakes or lizards. Further, he cannot aid/abet anyone with the selling, distribution or gathering of snakes and lizards. The lifetime hunting license revocation means Jones will be unable to collect reptiles from the wild for the remainder of his life. Jack Coronado faced a slew of charges: 132 violations, including nine felonies. These included taking/possessing 61 rubber boas without a valid hunting license, as well as possession of venomous snakes in unlocked/unlawful cages. For his role in Operation Sneaky Snake, Coronado received a five-year hunting license suspension, 300 days in jail with all 300 suspended, fines and penalties totaling $845, two years of unsupervised probation, $500 in restitution to Fish and Game for costs incurred during the investigation, 60 hours of community service, and a prohibition against possessing any snakes or lizards for two years. Jared Aicher faced 10 separate felony charges and 37 misdemeanor charges. Under a plea bargain agreement, he was ultimately charged with taking/possessing three snakes without a valid hunting license and importing four snakes into Idaho without proper permits. He received a one-year hunting license suspension, $430 in fines and $250 in restitution to Fish and Game for costs incurred during the investigation. An additional provision prohibits Aicher from possessing any snakes or lizards for one year. Facing 21 misdemeanor charges, Craig Carpenter chose not to cooperate with investigators, despite being offered a plea agreement during early stages of the investigation. He appeared in Ada County court on October 31 and eventually agreed to a much less favorable plea agreement. For his role in Operation Sneaky Snake, Carpenter received a three-year hunting license suspension, two years of unsupervised probation, 80 hours of community service (which will include additional time spent with investigating officers), and $225 in civil penalties and restitution. An additional provision of his sentencing prohibits him from possessing any reptiles and amphibians for the next three years. Sarah Kafel originally faced 127 violations, including 32 felonies for her role in Operation Sneaky Snake. Despite a generous plea-bargain agreement, she failed to appear in Elmore County court for arraignment on two misdemeanor charges. A warrant for her arrest has been issued, and because of her failure to appear, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering resurrecting at least some of the 32 felony charges against her for her role in Operation Sneaky Snake. Southern Idaho serves as the northern-most range for most species of desert snakes and lizards encountered in this part of the west. Scientific information regarding populations of these creatures is mostly lacking, including basic data such as population size and habitat preferences. Because many species have limited distribution, exploitation by Russ Jones or other unscrupulous collectors can potentially exterminate local populations. For these reasons, state law was amended to provide some protection for all of Idaho's reptile and amphibian species. For those persons who wish to legally collect and/or possess reptiles and amphibians in Idaho, four key rules apply: - A person must possess a valid hunting license to collect reptiles and/or amphibians; - A person can only have up to four of any one species of reptile or amphibian; - Commercialization (sale or trade) of reptiles and/or amphibians is prohibited; - An import permit must be secured from Fish and Game before any reptile or amphibian specimen collected or purchased outside of Idaho may be brought into the state (import permits are not available for venomous and/or dangerous reptiles or amphibians including venomous snakes and alligators). Although the pet trade is - for the most part - above board, reptiles and amphibians (collectively known as "herptiles" or "herps") continue to be illegally sold across the United States and abroad. Large wholesale dealers pay thousands of dollars for wild herptiles for the pet trade. "Any time money and wildlife come together, the potential for abuse is high," noted Fish and Game conservation officer Charlie Justus. "Many of the animals purchased by these wholesalers are illegally harvested because the collector has no valid license, lacks an import permit, has an overlimit of certain species, or perhaps collects a snake or lizard in a state which prohibits the sale of wild caught specimens." Internet sales of herptiles continue to increase as more collectors discover the ease with which herptiles can be marketed. Auction houses, electronic classified ads, and personal web sites are all being used for both legitimate and illegal sales of herptiles. Gila monsters provide one such example of the latter. "A number of sites offer Gila monster hatchlings for sale, indicating that they were produced in captivity," Justus explained. "That's highly unlikely, as Gila monsters are a high maintenance species to begin with and extremely difficult to breed in captivity. If an unscrupulous collector finds a young Gila in the wild, it more than likely will be marketed as a young, Ôcaptive-born' specimen." Tracking down internet sellers of illegal herptiles is equally difficult. "A person can post a specimen for sale, and request that interested parties respond via e-mail," Justus said. The seller may remain anonymous, providing a fictitious name, partial name, nickname or a business name. "Conducted electronically, even transactions can be virtually anonymous," Justus noted. Finally, good old-fashioned newspaper classifieds are used to market illegally-procured herptiles. "This case was a classic example of using classifieds to traffic in illegal specimens," Justus said. "Both Russ Jones and Sarah Kafel posted ads in the local paper offering specimens for sale." Jones would travel across Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, collecting snakes and lizards from the wild, each and every one of them illegal under the respective state's collecting rules. He would then "launder" these illegally taken specimens by shipping them to a herptile trader in Florida. The trader would ship legal herptiles back to Jones who would turn around and sell them locally. With invoices in hand from the Florida herptile trader, Jones was never questioned regarding the legality of the specimens he offered for sale. The illegal animals shipped to Florida by Jones would appear on the trader's inventory sheets for sale the following month.