Update: Mailed Snake Trial Begins
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
Jurors hearing the case against a lawyer and
his son accused of mailing a live snake to another man saw the
preserved carcass of the reptile today.
The snake was evidence in the trial of former district judge Bob
Castleman and his son, Robert Jerrod Castleman.
Witnesses also recounted the day Albert Coy Staton received the
copperhead snake in the mail.
Staton`s wife, Kathy Staton, testified that she, her husband and
four other people were in Albert Staton`s truck when she opened the
package when she opened the package and the snake slithered out.
Two Randolph County deputies answered the Statons` 911 call and
shot the snake, which was preserved in ethanol at a U-S Fish and
Wildlife Service lab. Prosecutors showed the preserved snake to
jurors.
Albert Staton has told jurors animosity began when the younger
Castleman sold him a faulty four-wheeler and became belligerent
when asked to pay for repairs.
Separate criminal and civil cases are pending against Albert
Staton for shooting at an SUV Jerrod Castleman was driving across
the Staton yard.
Posted by Mike Hellgren
