Theft of a 3-foot boa constrictor presents particular problems, like trying to appear inconspicuous.
Two Ogden teenagers were arrested Sunday after allegedly slipping out of a pet store with a snake, dashing through a neighborhood and finally abandoning the reptile in a mailbox.Police apprehended the pair, ages 14 and 16, following a foot chase.
A woman sitting in front of the Animal House Pet Store on Sunday afternoon became suspicious when she saw two youths leave the store with the snake. A police report said she went in and asked the clerk if she had just sold a snake.
She had not.
The employee, a 26-year-old woman, pursued the boys. The woman in the car followed too, as did a 34-year-old Ogden man who was inside the business when the theft occurred.
The man observed the two teenagers go behind some houses and stopped them and asked if they lived there. Both said they did.
A resident then yelled at the teenagers to get their snake out of his mailbox and the two fled.
Police said the customer retrieved the snake and returned it to the store.
The pair will be referred to juvenile court on suspicion of theft.