ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: SPOTSYLVANIA
It could be a week or more before police know for sure, but investigators believe robbers who knocked over a liquor store used a pet python to dispose of the evidence.
The 4-foot snake is in custody while it digests something identified in an X-ray as suspicious. According to an affidavit, the something is likely $1,000 taken Jan. 12.
Three men have been charged in the crime.
Police believe one of the robbery suspects bundled the cash tightly, then coated it with food to entice the Burmese python to swallow. The man, Richard Briggs, surrendered to police.
``Yeah, we have the snake, but we really didn't want that out yet,'' Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Capt. Howard Smith said Thursday. ``It could look a little foolish if it turns out there's no money in there.''
Reptilian digestion is a slow process. Police plan to give the snake another week or so to prove them right or wrong before having it operated on, Smith said.
The pet is passing the time at an animal hospital, he said.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 32 linesby CNB