Cobra owner in Grand Prairie arrested; venomous snake still missing in neighborhood
The owner of a cobra that went missing in August was arrested Friday and accused of violating a state law related to the snake getting out of his Grand Prairie home.
Grand Prairie police arrested 23-year-old Lawrence Matl without incident, according to a news release.
He was being held Friday in the Grand Prairie Detention Center with bond set at $10,000.
Matl faces a misdemeanor charge of release from captivity, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department violation.
As of Friday, the venomous West African banded cobra had not been located.
The cobra escaped from its owner’s home on Aug. 3, Grand Prairie officials said in a press release, and various agencies searched for the creature near the 1800 block of Cherry Street.
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Authorities warned people not to approach or try to catch the snake, which is venomous and considered dangerous.
Grand Prairie police initially said the owner had a permit for the snake, but the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said that the municipality where the owner lives prohibits people from owning this type of snake.
The 1800 block of Cherry Street is located in Dallas County. According to Dallas County rules, venomous snakes are considered prohibited animals.
Statewide, Texans can typically own nonvenomous snakes unless their county dictates otherwise. But snakes that are not native to Texas or are considered exotic and venomous require a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department-issued permit in order to be owned. African rock pythons, Asiatic rock pythons, green anacondas, reticulated pythons and Southern African pythons are some snakes that are considered dangerous and exotic.
Unlike rules for many other exotic animals, Texas law does not specify what form of enclosure a snake should be kept inside. Texas law has specifications for enclosure types for specified “dangerous wild animals,” but snakes are not listed among those creatures. However, a TPWD spokeswoman said that a person could face a class A misdemeanor penalty for recklessly, intentionally, or negligently allowing the snake to escape.
The snake’s owner told KXAS-TV in August that he thinks the cobra could have gotten caught inside the walls of his house and died, or died outside from the heat.
“I did make a mistake and I feel very sorry for the community,” the owner told NBC 5.
He told the TV station he had been feeding a rat to the snake when he left his home to get more food. “I left to go get food for my other animals down the street and I came back, and the cage door was open by an inch,” he said. “She must have found a way to open it up.”
There is a separate permit required to sell snakes in a commercial setting. Licensed zoos that possess or transport a snake for exhibition or scientific purposes do not require a permit.
Shortly after the snake’s escape, someone started a Twitter account for the Grand Prairie cobra and has used the social media account to taunt authorities in their efforts to capture the serpent and give people a laugh.
This report contains information from Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 12:17 PM.
