Python hoaxer faces charges

BRADENTON, Fla., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A Florida man has been charged with faking the trapping of a 14-foot Burmese python he had actually purchased from a dealer.

Justin Matthews, 47, of Bradenton was arrested this week by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the St. Petersburg Times reported. The charges include keeping a dangerous animal in an unsafe manner and misusing the 911 emergency system.

Matthews, a nuisance animal trapper, told news media in the St. Petersburg-Tampa area in July that a python was on the loose in a Bradenton neighborhood and he would be catching it. The 14-foot python was in a drain pipe.

Investigators said he had bought the python and put it in the pipe himself. Matthews quickly admitted staging the event, saying he had done so because he wanted to dramatize the problem of irresponsible owners of large snakes. He noted a python had killed an infant in Sumter County on July 1.

In August, Matthews apologized publicly, saying he had made a mistake but had not put anyone at risk.

About 100,000 Burmese pythons are believed to be living in the Florida Everglades but have not ventured as far north as Tampa Bay. Occasionally, a released or escaped pet turns up.