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Campers Fined $200 Each For Killing, Eating Rattlesnake

CUMBERLAND, Md. (CBS/AP) — Four young men got more than a meal when they killed and grilled a timber rattlesnake in western Maryland — they were hit with fines of $200 each in court.

Online court records show the men from Glen Burnie pleaded guilty Tuesday in district court in Cumberland to possessing or destroying the rattlesnake. It's a state-protected species.

Each was fined $500, with $300 suspended. All received probation before judgment, meaning their convictions can be expunged after probationary periods ranging from 14 to 28 months.

Maryland Natural Resources Police say the men were camping in the Green Ridge State Forest in August when they killed the snake with a BB gun and grilled it.

The defendants are 18-year-olds Austin Golas and Travis Luedtke and 19-year-olds Paul Lafon and Erick Reffitt.

A fifth defendant, 19-year-old Jared Holt, is scheduled for trial Dec. 8.

In California a Lake Elsinore man may have to lose is hand after he picked up a rattlesnake in order to take a selfie with it.

KCBS-TV reports that 36-year-old Alex Gomez snatched up the snake Monday at his family's ranch. The snake bit his hand which swelled. His neighbor called 911 and he was transported to an area hospital.

Gomez's mother says he is being treated with anti-venom, but that the skin on his hand is damaged and he may lose it.

California Poison Control reports dealing with 800 rattlesnake bites annually, with one to two cases being fatal. Gomez's snapshot happened in peak rattlesnake bite season, which runs from April to October.

 

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