Snakes stolen!!! Attention!

We got'em! All but two animals were recovered, although not without issues. Being I haven't seen a mite in my collection since bringing them home from Orlando in 1999, I was sad to see several on the snakes and the Carpet already showing a bit of distress from being kept in very cold conditions. With that said, the only animals still missing are the Savannah Pewter and the Vanishing Sterling.

First let me thank you all for the encouragement and support. It has been a very traumatic situation from the moment we noticed the break-in. The friends in the reptile community involved in helping, I can not begin to express my gratitude. I am proud to be part of such a tight-knit group of local breeders and enthusiasts.

Joe Yuris! If you don't know Joe, you need to. Joe is a coordinator of the Wabash Valley Reptile Expo and is building a great show in the Wabash Valley. With his help, we set up a sting within hours of the theft. Joe's savvy acting led these scumbags to believe he was new to snakes but had a very large sum of money to spend on these rare animals. He played dumb so well these guys actually thought he would hand over $35K in cash at a food stand in the ghetto. Joe, I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!!

Now comes the waiting game. Since the two that broke in and took the animals are minors, there is a chance they will both be let off with a slap on the wrist.
The conspirator, Kenneith "Deuce" Willett, is being charged with residential burglary, destruction of property, and distribution of stolen property.


He has a lengthy arrest record but has the attitude of "I'm 17 and they can't do anything to me." Since he will be 18 in 6 weeks we are going to press the prosecutor to process him as an adult. The great thing is, I have friends working in the police dept. and they have friends that are prosecutors. He may finally go away for a while if we get lucky.

The other, "the girlfriend", may not be so lucky. Kelsey Phillips


Sadly, not so much for her but for her unborn baby, she does not look as healthy as in this picture. She is a few months pregnant and looks very strung out on drugs. She is being held on charges of possession of stolen property. She admitted not knowing they were going to steal the animals but knew about it after the fact.....and was present for "the deal". We are pressing charges to the fullest and will be working to make sure her case is not thrown out. Since members of my family have known his dad and step mother for nearly 20 years, they asked me to make him pay to the fullest.

The last is a kid named Chase. I do not have a last name or picture but he is the one that spilled the beans. Apparently, Deuce told the cops I didn't take care of my animals and they would be better taken care of in his possession. Chase actually told the truth from what I was understand. He admitted to breaking in, taking animals, leaving on foot, and Deuce actually going back to take more. Douche asked him if he wanted to make some quick easy cash.....ummm, yeah.

I am still dumbfounded at just how stupid these people are. All three of them said "I didn't have anything to do with this" when I stepped out of the car as they were on the ground handcuffed. It was as epic as epic gets. We are going to press for restitution for both missing animals as well as damages to the building.

Again, I thank you all for your concern and support. I am honored to be a part of such a great community and would offer the same support and help to any of you. I hope no one ever goes through this experience. I will keep you all posted on any updates.

Sincerely,
Brandon Osborne
Osborne Reptiles

Brandon I'm glad to hear you got your animals back. But to be honest are you truly shocked at how stupid these people are? If they were as intelligent as you put them up today they would've gotten a good education a good job and done things the right way. There's always someone out there who think they deserve your hard work more than you do once again I'm glad you got your animals back.

So glad they were caught!!

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I am so sooo glad you got them back! I am hoping for the safe return of your other animals, and i hope "Douche" gets what every douche deserves.

sent from my incubator

SO glad to hear it, Brandon! And hopefully the last two will soon be home with you as well.

Wow! Killer story! So happy they were caught and you got most of your animals back! This was a terrible situation.

I'm so happy your got your animals back! I really hope you can recover the last stolen snakes. Too bad about the mite problem :(

Wow, I'm glad to see my gut feelings on the Willett kid were accurate. I've been contacted in the past by him about "adopting" snakes from me, except he asked if I wanted to trade snakes or would try to haggle with me on price, which is not really the best way to present yourself when I run a rescue and say I'm looking for a GOOD home. When I wouldn't sell him any, he started calling me names and accusing me of being a "fake" rescue (although I could never get out of him what exactly a "fake" rescue was). I black-listed him and talked to Chris about him as well.

I'm glad you got most of them back, and hope they will be ok and that the others are found quickly.

Thank goodness they were caught. And I'm glad to hear most of your animals were recovered. What a horrible ordeal. People are horrible. It just amazes me.

Really glad you got most of them back! Hope you get the rest back as well!!