Rest in peace, ye bonnie lad.
Posted on 05/21/2004 11:55:33 AM PDT by HAL9000
Investigators have reportedly drawn a connection between a Scotsman found dead last week in east Little Rock and venomous African snakes discovered the next day in a wooden box about half a mile away.Though Little Rock police confirmed the Scotsman and the snakes were connected, they wouldn’t say how they were linked or whether the man died from a snakebite, said Scott Carter, spokesman for the city of Little Rock.
Police interviewed Little Rock Zoo officials Thursday morning, asking questions about venomous bites and the four snakes taken to the zoo last week. "They wanted to know what kind of snakes they were, and they wanted to know if they could bite through the bags," said Little Rock Zoo Director Mike Blakely, referring to the cloth bags the snakes were found in. "I said, ‘Yes, they could. ’"
Investigators told zoo officials they are investigating an unusual death that may be linked to the snakes, Blakely said.
Authorities would not comment Thursday on the investigation. "I’m not going to talk about it," Little Rock Police Capt. Tom Bartsch said. He added that he couldn’t control what zoo officials said about police work, but that he wouldn’t discuss an ongoing investigation.
On May 13, police found the body of Garrick Wales, 48, of Kilmacolm, Scotland, in a rented Chevy Blazer on Gregg Street near the Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field, according to a police report.
Wales’ body has been sent to the state Crime Laboratory for an autopsy, and the case is classified as an undetermined death.
A day after Wales’ body was found, a curious Little Rock resident discovered the foreign snakes after he spotted a wooden box in a grassy area near Sixth and Byrd streets with a handwritten message that read "live venomous reptile."
Inside the box, in separate cloth bags were a 14-inch-long twig snake, a 6-foot-long green mamba, a 4-foot black mamba and a 5-foot forest cobra. The snakes were estimated by zoo officials to be worth about $1,000.
The serpents apparently spent at least two days in the box before Paul Mitchell, a purchasing agent for IK Electric, found the snakes and took them to the Little Rock Zoo.
Police found Wales alone and reclined in the driver’s seat of the Blazer about 7:14 a.m. He was "very pale," according to the police report. Police said Wales apparently threw up in the front and rear of the vehicle.
A woman reached at Wales ’ Scotland home said she was Wales’ wife but was "not in a position to talk about" her husband’s death. "I’m still very upset," said the woman who wished only to be identified as Mrs. Wales. She said her husband was in Little Rock on business, but she wouldn’t say what he did for a living.
Investigators said in the report that Wales had been staying at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Little Rock, but they didn’t say for how long.
The four African snakes were taken to the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, Texas, on Wednesday after a short stay at the Little Rock Zoo. No lifesaving antivenin exists in Arkansas to treat a bite from the snakes.
The Little Rock Zoo’s reptile handler, Randal Berry, drove the snakes to Texas, but couldn’t be reached at the zoo or his home for comment Thursday, the day he was to return from the trip.
After the mysterious snake discovery, Berry said earlier this week that a Delta Air Lines official confirmed that a shipment of venomous reptiles arrived in Little Rock on May 13 from Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Berry continued with plans to transfer the reptiles to Texas after airline officials wouldn’t release any details about the snakes’ owners. "Delta does not give out information about passengers or customers or information as far as who receives shipments and things," said Anthony Black, a spokesman at the company’s corporate office in Atlanta.
Information for this article was contributed by Dauphne Trenholm of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
And why would a dead Scotsman be found near the Clinton Library?
February 6, 2004 - Scots get Clinton library work
Wot number Arkancide would this bee?
#40 taking ye ol' dirt nap?
maybe now that they are claiming BIG donations for the liebrary, the clinton's can give the mis-appropriated money BACK to the Little Rock Zoo from whence it came?
Maybe the animals are exacting revenge for the theft?
Does this have something to do with Scottish law? Let's ask Arlen.
Rest in peace, ye bonnie lad.
I can see why venomous reptiles would be drawn to the Clinton Library/ Live Bait and Tackle/ Discount Cigarette/ Tanning and All Night Adult Video Superette.
It's a disgrace how the leaders of Little Rock have emptied the city's coffers to build Clinton's palace.
I wanna know how fast the guy drove when delivering those snakes to Texas.
The title had me confused for a second. I thought maybe the old trouser snake was gettin' busy again.
I blame George Bush!
As I said ....if you wanna muck with venomous snakes stick to local species. There is no need to import much more venomous exotics from overseas ...especially when your state doesn't have anti-venin.
Dumbo! I'm sorry he bought the farm, but who goes totting around venomous snakes?!?!?!?!?! Especially such a collection .I've played with my share of snakes .....until a kid I knew got tagged by his puff adder and bought it. However, I would never have gone with 2 mambas,a vine snake and a cobra. Well, let me say maybe the cobra and the vine snake ....but definitely not the mambas. The only two snakes I am afraid of are the mole snake (impossible to hold since they can unhinge their fangs ....not just mouth but fangs ....and bite your hand even if you are holding them behind their head), and obviously the several species of Mamba.
The second type of "snake handlers" are the wholesale/import/export guys who keep the religious folks in business.
Finally, we come to the third type ~ the Romany ~
Billzo's ("little Bill") mom would know more about this, but she is, alas, dead. Roger might know!
Very definitely an Arkancide. Too suspicious.
Aha!.... Clinton thought she was a beuty contestant and had her husband killed so he could have her.
"Uh..ah already had me Miss America in the back of the Presidential Limo".
IF he was bitten through the bag, as the cops are trying to say, then what killed him was the black mamba. They have a penchant for biting through the bags herpetologists put snakes in. It wasn't the cobra (fangs relatively short), and not the vine snake (back fanged). Hence that leaves the green mamba and the black mamba ....with the probable suspect being the black mamba since it doesn't get placated when placed in a dark space (like a bag) but continues to try to bite.
And it has long fangs for an elapid.
Another one bites the dust due to our dear friend Dendroaspis Polylepis. And that says one thing ....the guy was an amateur. No professional (at least the ones I've met who deal or have dealt with Mambas) would ever place one in a bag, and continue to hold that bag. They normally hold the bag with their snake tongs ....they give the bag the same respect they'd give the snake.
Dude made too many mistakes ....mistakes that are ok for a cottonmouth but disastrous for a Mamba.
Oh my goodness snakes!
ping
My great aunt had a phobia about snakes. She was scared to death of them, but she also loved to talk about them. I remember one time she was lovingly detailing the black mamba (including the old tale about it's being as fast as a horse). I remember how she acted out with her hand how it can strike again and again, and then saying "see, look at the goose bumps on my arms, just from talking about them...."
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