March 13 (UPI) -- Authorities in Maryland said they have charged a former zoo worker accused of taking and illegally keeping venomous snakes and other reptiles from the facility.
Maryland Natural Resources Police said Brandon Joseph Boyles, 28, of Cascade, was charged Friday with 23 counts of illegal possession of venomous snakes, animal cruelty and reckless endangerment after police conducting a raid at his home Feb. 22 found him to be in possession of six western diamondback rattlesnakes, one 7-foot forest cobra, one cape coral cobra and two boomslangs.