Scam Involves False Snake Removal, Deputies Say

The Tampa Tribune, September 26, 2008

Pinellas County sheriff's detectives are investigating a twist on an old robbery scam, this one involving thieves claiming they were hired to remove poisonous snakes from a homeowner's property.

Items are taken once the thieves gain access to the home, the sheriff's office said.

In past incidents, thieves told a story about checking for gas leaks, mold or termites.

The most recent robbery occurred about 11 a.m. Wednesday at a Pasadena home, detectives said. One man knocked on the door and told the homeowner he was a "snake pest control man."

Homeowner Marilyn Byrd, 80, told deputies that as the two were talking, the man sprayed her hand with what appeared to be snake poison he carried in a bottle. He said he had done it by accident and offered to treat her hand with warm water and milk.

The man used a walkie-talkie to call a second man, and they both went inside with Byrd.

One man helped Byrd put her hand in the milk and water and removed a ring from her finger, detectives said. The man told Byrd he was putting the ring in the refrigerator and that she needed to keep her hand in the milk solution for 10 minutes.

While her hand was immersed in the solution, the second man searched the house, detectives said. Byrd told deputies the men left before she realized the ring was not in the refrigerator.

Other valuables were missing, too.

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