Social Media

Officer Finds Snake Wrapped Around Driver's Neck During Traffic Stop

Two encounters in one day with a snake owner in Mineral Wells led police to take to social media.

Officers first encountered Daniel Garcia and his ball python, Lucy, Monday when they were called to the home where he lives over a dispute with the landlord.

It's there Garcia offered Officer Brandon Glover the chance to hold one of the five ball pythons that the family has as pets.

Glover posed for a photo with the snake not knowing later other officers would encounter the reptile again.

Monday night, another officer stopped Garcia during a routine traffic stop. Garcia got out of the SUV he was driving with the snake around his neck. Garcia says it's not unusual for him to take his snake with him when he leaves the house.

"The reason I jumped out of the car the way I did is this way the officer would see that I have a reptile around my neck," Garcia said. "This way if she came to the window, she wasn’t surprised."

Garcia was arrested for failure to maintain financial responsibility for no insurance.

An officer returned the snake safely back to Garcia's home.

NBC 5's Holley Ford contributed to this report.

Contact Us