Man Stuffs Baby Snake In Pants, Gets Caught: Cops

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A 27-year-old Holiday man stands accused of trying to smuggle a baby python out of a St. Petersburg pet store on Monday. His attempts were thwarted by the shop’s owner, police said.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, Animal House Pet Center owner Steve Silk watched the crime happen around 1:11 p.m. Monday and jumped in to stop the accused thief from taking off with his snake. Surveillance video of the crime obtained by WFLA shows Travis Treder putting the baby snake into his front shorts pocket. Silk and employees then intervened to recover the snake.

As Silk tried to catch Treder, employees and a customer jumped in to assist in detaining him.

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“The defendant pushed the merchant with both hands and attempted to leave through the front door of the store,” an arrest report stated. Silk and a witness were able to take Treder to the ground, the report said, and zip tie him until police arrived.

Treder was taken from the 950 34th St. N. store by police and booked into the Pinellas County Jail. Police charged him with petty theft and resisting a merchant, both misdemeanors. He was released in lieu of $300 bond, jail records indicate.

Treder is no stranger to the Pinellas jail. He has been arrested five other times within the county, jail records indicate. His most recent trips to the jail included a Jan. 11 unarmed home invasion robbery charge and an arrest on Feb. 22 at which time he was accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

As for the baby snake, it was recovered safely, WFLA reported.

Treder is not the only Tampa Bay area man accused of sticking something strange in his pants during a shoplifting attempt. In 2014, a Port St. Lucie man was caught on surveillance shoving a chainsaw down his pants. His attempt to get away on a bicycle didn’t end so well.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office