JACKSON COUNTY, Ga. — The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has charged a man after deadly, venomous snakes were discovered inside the home he shares with his mother and a child.
Channel 2's Tom Regan learned the deputies went to the home to check on a report of possible drug activity. Instead of drugs, they found the collection of snakes in a backroom.
Some of the snakes' cages were found near a baby's crib.
“It was very concerning to us,” Sheriff Janis G. Mangum said. “The Department of Family and Children’s Services were notified of that because it’s very dangerous. Very dangerous for anyone in that house, but a child?”
Rangers with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources were called in to seize the snakes, which they identified as two gaboon vipers and a cobra. The snakes are illegal to own without a permit.
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Regan researched the gaboon viper, which is native to sub-Sahara Africa. The snake has the longest fangs, up to two inches in length, and has the highest venom yield of any snake.
Mangum said that keeping venomous snakes inside a home is a terrible risk to everyone.
“Just because you have them in a container, doesn’t’ mean they can’t get out," she told Regan.
The DNR’s investigation is continuing and another man will be charged with illegally possessing the cobra.
Cox Media Group
