A number of venomous snakes were pulled from a Falls Township apartment by police and an animal expert.
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Police arrived, according to residents, at the B building of the Aspen Falls Apartments off Trenton Road around 4 p.m. Wednesday with a search warrant in hand. Multiple Falls Township officers ended up entering the apartment and spoke with several people.
The exact reason the officers were searching the apartment and whether anything other than snakes were found was not immediately clear.
A check of the district court showed no charges related to the case as of late Wednesday evening.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
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“Jungle Joe” Fortunato, a retired Falls Township police officer and animal expert, was called in to handle the snakes in the ground-floor apartment. By 6 p.m., he said he had removed 23 snakes and 21 of them appeared to be venomous.
There were cobras in containers and a rattlesnake making its famed buzzing rattle with its tail.
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Falls Township police Lt. Hank Ward referred comment on the incident to the district attorney’s office, which said they were still investigating.
“This is, by far, the largest collection I’ve seen,” Fortunato said of the snakes.
The snakes will be taken to licensed centers that can handle them and determine their future, Fortunato said.
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Medics from the Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad and the fire marshal stood by.
No snake-related injuries were reported.
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