
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 22, 1995                   TAG: 9507250023
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE                                LENGTH: Short

HE DOES LIKE SPIDERS AND SNAKES

A Triangle man bitten twice by a cobra in his home has been charged with two counts of possessing exotic animals, including seven tarantulas.

Prince William County police charged Kevin Stotler, 27, with violating a county law that prohibits people from keeping wild animals as pets.

Stotler was bitten twice Wednesday morning as he handled one of two monocled cobras he kept as a breeding pair. Authorities said that after he was bitten once in the hand, Stotler grabbed the snake and was bitten a second time on the other hand.

Police said Stotler will be charged as soon as he is able to leave Fairfax Hospital. He was listed in fair condition, hospital spokeswoman Jane Albright said.

Lt. Barry Barnard, a Prince William police spokesman, said one warrant charges Stotler with possessing 24 snakes - although a later count indicated there were only 22. The second warrant charges him with possessing seven tarantulas.

Toby Litovitz, the director of the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, said Stotler was lucky. Cobra venom causes swelling as well as paralysis that can lead to a coma, she said.

Police removed 20 containers of snakes and tarantulas from the victim's home Wednesday. Head animal warden Gary Sprifke said Stotler consented to having the animals seized without a search warrant.

The latest count, Sprifke said, shows 22 snakes were taken from the residence. Sixteen of the 19 poisonous snakes were cobras; the three nonpoisonous snakes will be returned to the owner.

Stotler is scheduled to appear in General District Court on Sept. 11.

by CNB