Lawyer sent poisonous snake to neighbour

A lawyer and his son faced jail today for sending a man a deadly snake in the post – after a row about a car repair bill.

Jerrod Castleman, 20, sent the copperhead to neighbour Albert Coy Staton after the dispute erupted in September 2002.

Staton had asked for money for repairs to an all-terrain vehicle he had bought from Jerrod.

The demand escalated into an all-out feud between the neighbours, from Pocahontas in Arkansas, and Jerrod’s father Bob suggested his son catch a poisonous snake and send it in the post.

So Jerrod, helped by a local man, caught the copperhead, put it in a box and dropped it off at the post office.

The next day, September 30, 2002, the package was delivered to Staton’s wife, Kathy, who took it from a postman as she sat in a pick-up truck outside her home.

In terror she threw the poisonous reptile out of the window, and sheriff’s deputies later shot it dead.

While a bite from a copperhead does not necessarily mean death, the injury leads to excruciating pain and severe illness. The copperhead is a member of the pit viper family.

Bob Castleman’s fingerprints were found on adhesive tape used to wrap the parcel, and when police interviewed him, the full story emerged.

The Castlemans pleaded guilty yesterday to mailing a “threatening communication”.

Lawyers said Bob Castleman faces between 27 and 33 months in prison while his son faces 31 to 44 months.

Both men were freed on bail and will be sentenced later.

In their defence, the father and son claimed in court that Staton had fired a rifle at Jerrod and his girlfriend due to the dispute.

The elder Castleman said he suggested the revenge idea to make Staton feel “the fear and terror that my son and his girlfriend felt that night”.

Separate criminal and civil cases are pending against Staton over the allegation.