An 8-Foot Trespasser Is a Handful

Police sent to an empty house in Pacoima early Friday to pick up trespassers arrested two without a problem, but shied away from a third.

How could they handcuff an eight-foot-long python in any case?

After officers gracefully backed out of the house, a city animal regulation officer was called and the trespassing snake came out peacefully. It even posed for photos.

Police said the incident began after the snake’s owner and his cousin illegally entered the Foothill Boulevard house and were living there. Police said the snake’s owner had previously lived in the house but had been evicted and his return constituted trespassing.

The officers were unaware of the snake until after the two men had been arrested. Officer John Smith was standing in a bedroom when one of the officers who had just questioned the trespassers outside stuck his head in and said, “by the way, John, there is an eight-foot python in there.”

Smith, who is not fond of snakes, left immediately. When Animal Regulation Officer Hugh Briefman arrived, he found the snake curled up in a corner of the room and carried it out on his shoulders.

Police said the snake would be held by animal regulation authorities until its owner gets out of jail.