Police: Guns, ammo found in Providence home with 70 snakes
by: Sarah Doiron
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Police made quite the discovery while searching a Providence apartment for weapons over the weekend.
Officers were initially called to the Waldo Street apartment early Saturday morning for reports of a man walking around outside with a gun, according to a police report obtained by 12 News.
Police said the officers pulled up to the apartment and saw two women fighting on the front porch, as well as a shirtless man standing in the doorway.
The officers noticed that the man, identified as 25-year-old Vincent Gibbs, handed something to another man inside the apartment as they were separating the two women. Police said another woman who wasn’t involved in the fight warned the officers that Gibbs had a gun just moments prior.
Gibbs eventually became combative and intervened in the fight that the officers were trying to break up, according to police.
Once everyone was separated, police said they went inside the apartment and found six unsecured pistols and rifles. Detectives removed the firearms from the residence and returned later that afternoon with a search warrant.
Detectives then found a ghost gun, a stun gun, ammo, large-capacity feeding devices, suspected drugs, and thousands of dollars in cash.
Detectives also found a “multitude of snakes” in a bedroom while searching the apartment, the report said. According to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM), roughly 70 snakes were removed from the residence, along with a raccoon, two turtles and a dog.
The DEM said the snakes were living in “poor conditions,” and among them was a nearly 12-foot Burmese python.
Thought the number of snakes was surprising, R.I. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA) President Wayne Kezirian told 12 News their owner, who is not Gibbs, is within his rights to have them.
“It’s peculiar to see this number of snakes,” Kezirian explained. “But ball pythons, Burmese pythons and boa constrictors are snakes that individuals can own … It doesn’t matter the number.”
The dog, raccoon and turtles, one of which is a species that’s prohibited to have as a pet, were removed from the home, according to the DEM. It’s unclear whether the snakes were removed as well.
The DEM said the raccoon was euthanized since it is a rabies vector and came into contact with humans.
Gibbs is facing a number of charges, including felony assault and battery, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a large-capacity feeding device, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a ghost gun, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, resisting arrest, carrying a pistol without a license, obstruction of an officer, and disorderly conduct.
He was released on $30,000 surety bail pending his next court date, which is scheduled for Aug. 30.
The man who owns the snakes and other animals has not been charged.