Texan’s ‘Security’ Rattles Authorities
CHICAGO — A gun-toting Texan who reportedly kept a diamond-back rattlesnake to guard his camper wound up in jail Tuesday.
Police said that Benito Tavarez’s snake-bite burglar deterrent was illegal, because Illinois law prohibits possession of venomous or life-threatening reptiles.
Tavarez, 65, of Laredo, Tex., was arrested Monday after the engine of his truck caught fire. When police broke into the camper to make sure no one was inside, they found a three-foot-long rattler coiled and ready to strike.
Tavarez told officers his truck had been burglarized several times and he decided to put an end to it.
In addition to unlawful possession of a snake, Tavarez was held on several weapons charges.
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