What began as a traffic stop ultimately turned into a drug bust and animal rescue mission last week according to the Solano County Sheriff’s Office.
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According to sheriff’s officials, Clifford Vincenty, 50, of Vallejo was arrested April 6 after deputies pulled him over in the unincorporated area of Vallejo. A search of his vehicle uncovered about a half a pound of methamphetamine and Vincenty was booked into Solano County Jail on felony charges of possession for sale and transportation of illegal drugs. He is schedule for a readiness conference at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Solano County Superior Court. A preliminary hearing has been set for 10 a.m. Friday.
However, the investigation took a turn when county vice detectives and the Sheriff’s Enforcement Team (SET) served a search warrant at Vincenty’s home in Vallejo. Inside the venue they found an additional pound of methamphetamine (bringing the total street value of drugs seized to $26,000) plus $2,000 in cash. But they also found a live spider monkey (an endangered species) and two live rattlesnakes.
An image from a sheriff’s body camera was included on the Solano County Sheriff’s Facebook page announcing the arrest of Clifford Vincenty, 50, of Vallejo. (COURTESY Solano Sheriff’s Office)
County Animal Control was called in and was able to safely remove the creatures. The spider monkey was placed in the Oakland Zoo with the help of California Fish and Wildlife while the snakes were taken by JW Reptile Rescue.
The zoo reported that the female spider monkey (now named Violeta) is in decent health and around 18 months old. Initially transported to the Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital, she is being treated with UV light treatments and calcium supplementation.
“In the next week, the Oakland Zoo’s Veterinary staff will perform a CT scan, a more thorough physical exam, and bloodwork to assess organ function and infectious disease status,” the zoo noted on its website.
The hospital assures that Violeta is doing well.
“Veterinary Hospital staff are taking measures to ensure Violeta’s overall wellbeing and have reported that she is doing well in her temporary home where keepers have set up enrichment, along with blankets and toys to keep her comfortable and stimulated,” the zoo noted. “They are providing her with a healthy diet that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables, and she is drinking formula that will help to minimize the likelihood of pathologic bony fractures.”
Spider monkeys are considered an endangered species but all primates, including spider monkeys, are illegal to own in California.
“Infant spider monkeys in the pet trade are often the result of their mothers and family members being shot down from the trees to capture the baby,” said Colleen Kinzley, VP of Animal Care, Conservation, and Research at Oakland Zoo. “Many times, the baby is killed or injured due to the fall. Once they enter the pet trade, these animals typically do not receive a proper diet or adequate socialization with other monkeys, which can lead to lifelong physical and mental health issues. It is crucial to raise awareness about the threats these animals face and to take action to end this deadly trade.”
The zoo noted that wildlife trafficking is one of the largest illegal trades in the world, second only to drug and human trafficking and is fueled by the demand whether as pets or for profit-driven businesses.
Solano Sheriff’s officials included a picture of the two rattlesnakes confiscated during the search. (COURTESY Solano Sheriff’s Office)
The zoo said that Violeta is in the veterinary hospital and cannot be visited by zoo guests. After she has full recovered, the zoo will “work with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Wildlife Confiscation Network (WCN) to find her an appropriate home in an accredited zoo or sanctuary, where she can grow up as normally as possible in a troop of other spider monkeys,” zoo officials said.
As for the rattlesnakes, they will eventually be relocated said Wendy Rozonewski of JW Reptile Rescue.
She and her husband, Joe Lamb, have been active in snake removal and rescue for years but said the two brought to them last week was a unique situation.
“They were found in a 20 gallon unsecure tank with a piece of wood on top that had a hole in it,” she said. “And they were left outside with no water sources.”
There were two mice in the enclosure “that the snakes were apparently not interested in eating,” she added.
“We don’t know too much about them,” Rozonewski added. “Animal Control said they were told they had been in the container for just a couple of days but who knows? And we were told they were from the Vacaville area but, again, we have no way to tell.”
State law requires that relocation of rattlesnakes be in a 2 to 3 mile range from where they are captured. “That’s because they don’t want to overpopulate one particular area,” Rozonewski explained. She said the two Northern Pacific rattlers will be release in a wildland area around Vacaville that is non-residential and where there is a water source but where they are safe from human encounters and vice versa.
And just as the zoo officials hope to educate about spider monkeys, Rozonewski is hoping the message gets out about snakes too.
“With rattlesnakes it seems like people either want to kill them or try to own them to look cool,” she said. “My husband has been doing relocation work for 35 years and we really try to make people aware and to educate them to leave them alone and they won’t bother you. They don’t eat you and they usually bite out of fear. They rattle to let you know they are there and to ‘please stay away from me.’”