Officials to discuss rule changes for venomous reptile owners

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — It could be more than a year before the owner of a king cobra that escaped in Orange County is tried in criminal court for failing to keep the snake enclosed.

Mike Kennedy is accused of violating Florida Fish and Wildlife rules by failing to immediately report the deadly snake's escape.

The state's effort to keep key evidence against Kennedy in court could take months.

The snake escaped at Kennedy’s home near Apopka Vineland Road last year.

Kennedy was required to report it to state wildlife agents, so his attorneys said anything he told those agents shouldn't be allowed to be used against him in court.

The reality TV star and exotic animal owner has been fighting two battles; one with the state to keep his animals and another in criminal court to prove he didn't break state law when the deadly snake escaped from its cage.

“When the person's required to report, the government has to tell them they're switching from the accident to criminal investigation,” said Judge Deb Blechman.

She ruled in favor of a motion by Kennedy's defense team to exclude any statements made to wildlife agents at his home when he called to report the snake was gone.

At issue was that no one read Kennedy his Miranda rights before he admitted he waited 24 hours to report the snake as missing.

“The officer would have to tell the person they're now finishing the accident report investigation and they are starting a criminal investigation,” said the judge.

Kennedy could still have his license revoked and animals taken away.

An administrative process with FWC is still moving forward.

Meanwhile, prosecutors are appealing the judge's decision on the criminal charges.

“When it's on appeal, I lose jurisdiction. There's nothing more I can do or say until it comes back from appeal probably a year from now,” Blechman.

What happened with that king cobra prompted statewide inspections and possible changes for other venomous reptile owners.

FWC officials found the cage the snake was in wasn't up to agency standards, even though they had signed off on it for years.

Three decades earlier, a different king cobra escaped in Orange County.

FWC is now considering stricter rules for new venomous reptile license applicants, including training and certification courses and mandatory tagging of snakes.

The agency is also considering a statewide database of venomous snakes.

The proposed changes will be discussed by wildlife agents next week and could be approved by summer.

Cox Media Group