Sylvilagus Aquaticus
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http://www.news-journal.com/news/newsfd/auto/feed/news/2004/08/25/1093491795.18121.5174.7635.html
08-26: Gilmer man can't slither his way out of this ticket
By WES FERGUSON
The only good snake is a dead snake, as Ricky Huey sees it.
So when he spied a water moccasin Tuesday crossing Texas 300 at the Clear Creek bridge, five miles southeast of Gilmer, he pulled over and got out his pellet gun.
"I thought I'd sit on that creek bank in the shade for a little while and doctor me some snakes," said Huey, a 45-year-old Gilmer resident.
To doctor a snake, he explained, you shoot it dead.
Huey had been doctoring snakes for 15 to 20 minutes when an off-duty police officer saw him with his gun and called for backup.
"He said he thought that little old pellet rifle was an AK-47," Huey said. "He got out with his hand on the gun yelling, ‘Put the gun down!’ â€
When state troopers, sheriff's deputies and the off-duty officer searched his truck and couldn't figure out what to charge him with, Huey said, they called in the game warden, who cited him for shooting snakes without a hunting license.
This infuriated the snake doctor. He said he'd never pay the $25 to $500 ticket.
"I ain't got nothing but time," Huey said. "I'll sit there in that Upshur County Jail and let them feed me for as long as it takes."
The game warden, Jeff Cox, said Tuesday's incident was a special circumstance. He said he wouldn't cite a person for shooting a snake while defending one's back yard, but Huey was killing for sport and doing it in a public place.
Cox said neighbors started calling 911 as soon as they heard shots, and were frightened by Huey walking up and down the highway with his rifle.
"It wasn't like I'm out on patrol and see this guy on the side of the road and decide to pull over and hassle him. It kind of put me on the spot when I got a call to come and assist," Cox said. "It seemed like, well, because of all the circumstances here something needs to be documented."
By law, game wardens regulate the hunting of snakes, frogs, turtles and all other animals.
"Honestly, I had a lot of second thoughts about it," Cox said. "I could have handled it with a warning and could still go that route."
That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, Huey and Cox met before Justice of the Peace Arnold Grimes. After a pleasant discussion, Grimes gave Huey deferred adjudication. If he's not cited for hunting without a license in the next 30 days, his record will be clean.
Through it all, the snake doctor kept one secret about his actions on the creek bank.
"I didn't tell them this: I done shot two of them," Huey said.
08-26: Gilmer man can't slither his way out of this ticket
By WES FERGUSON
The only good snake is a dead snake, as Ricky Huey sees it.
So when he spied a water moccasin Tuesday crossing Texas 300 at the Clear Creek bridge, five miles southeast of Gilmer, he pulled over and got out his pellet gun.
"I thought I'd sit on that creek bank in the shade for a little while and doctor me some snakes," said Huey, a 45-year-old Gilmer resident.
To doctor a snake, he explained, you shoot it dead.
Huey had been doctoring snakes for 15 to 20 minutes when an off-duty police officer saw him with his gun and called for backup.
"He said he thought that little old pellet rifle was an AK-47," Huey said. "He got out with his hand on the gun yelling, ‘Put the gun down!’ â€
When state troopers, sheriff's deputies and the off-duty officer searched his truck and couldn't figure out what to charge him with, Huey said, they called in the game warden, who cited him for shooting snakes without a hunting license.
This infuriated the snake doctor. He said he'd never pay the $25 to $500 ticket.
"I ain't got nothing but time," Huey said. "I'll sit there in that Upshur County Jail and let them feed me for as long as it takes."
The game warden, Jeff Cox, said Tuesday's incident was a special circumstance. He said he wouldn't cite a person for shooting a snake while defending one's back yard, but Huey was killing for sport and doing it in a public place.
Cox said neighbors started calling 911 as soon as they heard shots, and were frightened by Huey walking up and down the highway with his rifle.
"It wasn't like I'm out on patrol and see this guy on the side of the road and decide to pull over and hassle him. It kind of put me on the spot when I got a call to come and assist," Cox said. "It seemed like, well, because of all the circumstances here something needs to be documented."
By law, game wardens regulate the hunting of snakes, frogs, turtles and all other animals.
"Honestly, I had a lot of second thoughts about it," Cox said. "I could have handled it with a warning and could still go that route."
That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, Huey and Cox met before Justice of the Peace Arnold Grimes. After a pleasant discussion, Grimes gave Huey deferred adjudication. If he's not cited for hunting without a license in the next 30 days, his record will be clean.
Through it all, the snake doctor kept one secret about his actions on the creek bank.
"I didn't tell them this: I done shot two of them," Huey said.
