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Missing cobra prankster charged
NorthJersey.com ^ | 7/14/05 | ELENA MATSUI

Posted on 07/18/2005 5:01:37 PM PDT by wagglebee

PEQUANNOCK - A king cobra on the loose in Pompton Plains? Just kidding.

Police received a phone call from a resident Tuesday about a poster for a missing snake. It said a cobra, answering to "Fang" or "King Fangson," had been missing since July 6.

When police investigated, they discovered more than a dozen posters tacked to utility poles around Colfax Drive.

The posters promised a cash reward for the return of the snake and warned that "Fang" was dangerous when provoked.

But police say that once they called the number listed on the poster they realized it was just a practical joke between two friends. And now one of the pranksters faces a court date, charged with disturbing the peace.

Ironically, the initial police response ended up creating more alarm than the posters.

"Once police started pulling down the posters, more residents called to find out what was going on because they saw officers around the area," police Lt. Dan Dooley said. "We received four or five calls from people."

He said police called the man whose number was printed on the poster - and found that he hadn't even seen it. But the man attributed the prank to his friend, Eric Soder of Pompton Plains, Dooley said.

The man, who police did not identify, claimed he and Soder, 23, of Manor Avenue, have been exchanging practical jokes for some time and that this was Soder's latest retaliation. Dooley said this was the first occasion that one of those jokes has resulted in intervention by police.

Soder was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with disorderly conduct for creating alarm in the community.

He must appear in Municipal Court and, if convicted, faces fines of up to $500.

Reached at his home Wednesday evening, Soder expressed embarrassment, but also determination.

Asked whether he and the other man, whom he would not identify, would halt their shenanigans, he said, "No way! Why should we stop? We shouldn't have to stop."

Soder wouldn't describe past episodes and couldn't say how it all got started, but on Wednesday, the two pranksters were still at it: Having come out that morning to find his car soaped up, Soder retaliated by using cardboard to jam the doors shut on his friend's car.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: cobras
Damn, that's funny.
1 posted on 07/18/2005 5:01:38 PM PDT by wagglebee
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To: wagglebee
I'm printing my version right now.

Not gonna use a real phone number though.

2 posted on 07/18/2005 5:04:14 PM PDT by Dinsdale
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To: wagglebee

Handcuff them together face to face and make them be good.


3 posted on 07/18/2005 5:05:33 PM PDT by handy old one (It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims. Aristotle)
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To: wagglebee

LOL. I like this one.


4 posted on 07/18/2005 5:05:45 PM PDT by ShadowDancer (As for the types of comments I make,sometimes I just, By God,get carried away with my own eloquence.)
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To: wagglebee

I used to have a wave file of some 1930s horror movie guy saying "my cobra is missing!".


5 posted on 07/18/2005 5:09:23 PM PDT by struwwelpeter
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To: wagglebee

Hahaha...


6 posted on 07/18/2005 5:11:21 PM PDT by July 4th (A vacant lot cancelled out my vote for Bush.)
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To: Dinsdale
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
7 posted on 07/18/2005 6:26:24 PM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (LET ME DIE ON MY FEET IN MY SWAMP, ALEX KOZINSKI FOR SCOTUS)
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To: wagglebee
It said a cobra, answering to "Fang" or "King Fangson,"

And yet the cops didn't realize it was a joke till they called the number ?

How many snakes come when called ?
8 posted on 07/18/2005 7:12:26 PM PDT by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
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To: festus

If I give everyone the phone number of a customer of mine that cheated me out of $450.00, would you put her phone number on all the posters you create?


9 posted on 07/18/2005 7:16:01 PM PDT by phil1750 (Love like you've never been hurt;Dance like nobody's watching;PRAY like it's your last prayer)
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To: festus
Given that snakes don't have ears, teaching one to respond to verbal commands would be something only a genuine water walker would attempt.

I'd be surprised if the jury doesn't laugh the case right out of court. If ever there was proof that those LEO's aren't the brightest part of the I.Q. bell curve, this is it.
10 posted on 07/18/2005 7:22:27 PM PDT by GladesGuru ("In a society predicated upon liberty, it is essential to examine principles)
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