‘A huge mistake.’ Raleigh snake collector pleads guilty after spitting cobra escape
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Snake scare in Raleigh, and the aftermath
In the summer of 2021, a venomous zebra cobra was on the loose in a North Raleigh neighborhood, an incident that captured the region’s attention. The incident prompted the city of Raleigh to enact a new exotic animal ordinance. Here is coverage from The News & Observer.
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A Raleigh snake collector whose escaped zebra cobra caused a frenzy in June pleaded guilty to one charge in court Friday and will pay more than $13,100 in restitution.
Christopher Gifford, 21, pleaded guilty to failing to report the missing snake and was ordered to pay storage fees and overtime costs for law enforcement officers and emergency workers who responded to the incident.
He also agreed to relinquish the snakes — worth about $35,000 — which will be used for anti-venom and cancer research, said Anna Smith Felt, Gifford’s attorney.
The remaining 39 misdemeanor charges related to his escaped cobra and other venomous reptiles were dropped.
The misdemeanor charge he pleaded guilty to will also be dismissed after a year if Gifford successfully completes his probation.
“It was a huge mistake,” he said after the court hearing. “Whatever I can do to fix it, I’ve been trying to do.”
The snake was reported outside a house in northwest Raleigh, less than a half-mile from Gifford’s home on June 28. It set off a frenzy of law enforcement and media attention before being captured two days later.
Gifford was charged with failure to report the escaped snake, with his attorney confirming the snake had been missing since November, The News & Observer reported. Most of Gifford’s charges were for keeping venomous reptiles in improper closures.
‘A lack of judgment’
“This gentleman has never been in trouble before and clearly there was a lack of judgment on this day back in November,” said Felt. “But he has done absolutely everything he can to rectify the situation.”
After the snake escape Gifford did try to capture the cobra, which can spit venom several feet, but believed it died due to the colder weather, Felt said.
“So when he was not able to find it through his own actions, he presumed this animal to be dead,” she said. “Like I said, it was bad judgment, but that is the answer as to why it was not reported initially.”
He will not be allowed to keep venomous snakes during his probation, according to the terms of the deal.
His social media presence, including a TikTok account with more than 460,000 followers, showed Gifford handling snakes in his home and driveway. In addition to the zebra cobra, the collection included other cobras, rattlesnakes, vipers and a green mamba, which bit him in March.
The city of Raleigh is considering a wild and exotic animal ordinance that would ban the possession of venomous snakes, among other changes.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 12:31 PM with the headline "‘A huge mistake.’ Raleigh snake collector pleads guilty after spitting cobra escape."
