Jury finds man guilty of releasing cobra that escaped crude cage in Grand Prairie house
.jpg "A jury at a trial last month found guilty of release from captivity a man who two years ago in Grand Prairie owned a West African banded cobra that escaped from an enclosure in a house. This is a photograph of a West African banded cobra similar to the one that escaped.")
A jury at a trial last month found guilty of release from captivity a man who two years ago in Grand Prairie owned a West African banded cobra that escaped from an enclosure inside a house.
The panel in County Criminal Court No. 3 in Dallas County concluded on July 26 that Lawrence Matl had violated a legal code by “intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence [releasing or allowing] the release from captivity a live nonindigenous snake that is venomous.”
Judge Gracie Lewis sentenced Matl to 15 months of supervised probation, according to a court record.
Matl, 25, is during the probation period prohibited from keeping as a pet a reptile and was ordered to pay to the city of Grand Prairie $998 in restitution, according to the record.
The cobra remains missing. It was kept inside a homemade cage before it escaped on Aug. 3, 2021, in the 1800 block of Cherry Street.
The cage was made of wood and sliding plexiglass and had no locks, according to an affidavit supporting Matl’s arrest, which occurred on Feb. 11, 2022.
The escaped female snake was in the cage with a male West African banded cobra when it left. Matl told police he purchased the cobras about two weeks before the escape, according to the affidavit.
On Aug. 3, Matl fed the cobras, then left the room for about 15 minutes. When he returned, the female cobra was gone.
Matl told police he noticed the plexiglass on the cage was open about an inch. He said he had closed it.
Beyond the cobras, Matl had a pit viper in his house. Authorities removed the remaining snakes because a city ordinance prohibits wildlife ownership.
An expert on wildlife removal told police the cage was insufficient for a highly venomous snake.
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 4:37 PM.
