Tennessee police are searching for several suspects who allegedly robbed a convenience store using pythons.
Last week, Madison County police released CCTV footage of the suspects and their vehicle on Instagram. The unbelievable photos and video show the suspects, sans facial coverings, recklessly wielding the pythons and using them to threaten the cashier.
Police are searching for two males and two females who allegedly entered a local Citgo station on March 4 and used the pythons to steal CBD oil “valued at $400.” Mayur Raval, the cashier glimpsed in the security footage, told local outlet WREG that he was working with his brother when the alleged thieves entered the store. As it so happens, Raval has a paralyzing fear of snakes. (It’s not clear if the suspects were aware of this.)
“They were just waving them around and putting them on the counter. One person brought in one snake first, and then after that, he brought in another snake,” Raval said of the peculiar scene. “One [snake] is white, and one is brown or a mix.”
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In the ensuing terror and confusion, Raval claims the snake handlers were able to steal the CBD off the counter in front of him. He believes they would have taken more if not for the high number of customers in the store at the time. “They pulled their car up to the front of the door,” Raval recalled. “I think they planned to successfully come here and rob the store. The snake is a weapon, you know.”
Several days after the Citgo station incident, 26-year-old Reginald Cook was arrested and charged with two accounts of attempted aggravated robbery after he entered a nearby Shell station with a five-foot snake wrapped around his neck and demanded money from the cashier. Police believe Cook was involved in both incidents, but they are still searching for the other three suspects.
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