Charges filed over reptiles
Thousand Oaks man is accused of animal cruelty after snakes escape from property.
The case began with a neighbor spotting a cobra slithering onto the neighbor’s property before promptly using a car to squash it.
Animal control officers who responded to the Thousand Oaks neighborhood last summer soon discovered a menagerie of alligators and dozens of venomous snakes allegedly belonging to a man named Todd Kates.
Nearly a year later, Kates has been charged with 14 felony counts of cruelty to an animal and 26 misdemeanor Fish and Game Code and California Code of Regulations counts related to the care and housing of the animals, the Ventura County district attorney’s office said.
Investigators determined the snake had come from the home next to the neighbor who spotted the cobra. And it wasn’t the first time a snake had made a great escape from the property.
In 2014 an albino monocled cobra had escaped and eluded capture for days while keeping locals on edge. That snake ultimately was captured but not before biting a 7-year-old whippet named Teko.
After the most recent incident, a search warrant was executed at Kates’ home July 6.
During the search “numerous exotic animals were found on the property in poor health and unsanitary conditions,” according to the district attorney’s office. In addition, Kates allegedly lacked proper permits for the animals.
Altogether, about 84 snakes were recovered, as well as tortoises, birds and other animals, officials said at the time. Inside a murky pool on the Thousand Oaks property, officers found eight crocodilians, each 2 to 3 feet long.
Kates faces a maximum penalty of 11 years and eight months in jail.
“The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) is thankful for the work done by the Ventura County District Attorney and Sheriff ’s Department,” the department said in a statement. “DACC strongly discourages any resident from owning or keeping dangerous reptiles that can cause harm to the community, and are kept against lawful regulations.”