DOCUMENT: Animals, Bizarre, Crime

Snake Attack!

Cops: South Carolina man wielded python in hotel assault

python

View Document

Snake Attack!

APRIL 14--Meet Tony Smith.

The South Carolina man was arrested last night for striking another man in the face--with a four-foot python. According to a Rock Hill Police Department report, Smith, 29, hit victim Jeffery Culp 'in the face with the snake's head' following a dispute at a Rock Hill hotel (Culp told cops he had earlier exchanged words with Smith due to loud music playing in Smith's room).

Smith, pictured in the mug shot at left, was collared by cops who found him on a hotel balcony with the python in his arms. After turning the snake over to a family member, Smith was handcuffed and booked into the local jail for assault and battery. The police report, which does not indicate whether Culp, 47, was injured in the snake attack, lists the 'weapon type' used in the assault as 'other.' (2 pages)