It's not every day someone makes an attempt on your life. But Elijah Bowles believes that's exactly what happened last week, when he picked up a package at the Twentynine Palms post office and found a live rattlesnake inside.
Someone had put cotton balls in the box so postal workers wouldn't hear the snake's rattle, the 60-year-old truck driver said.
“That's attempted murder, in my opinion,” he said.
Bowles picked up the package Thursday and asked a friend to open it as they drove away from the post office that serves the Mojave Desert town near Joshua Tree National Park.
“When he opened the box, he almost threw it at me,” she said. “And she says, 'There's a snake in there.'”
Bowles stopped and set the box down at the curb, then used a stick to pry it open. He estimates the snake was about 2 feet long. He called 911 and Animal Control.
Animal Control picked up the snake and a San Bernardino County deputy took a report that was sent to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is handling the investigation, the Sheriff's Department said.
Patricia Mendoza, a postal inspector, said in an emailed statement that an investigation is underway.
The package, marked “fragile” in black marker, listed a return address as a home in Palm Coast, Florida, but tracking information indicates it was mailed on May 3 to Hayward, California.
“This is a first for me,” said Rick Boyd, Animal Control supervisor for the city of Twentynine Palms, who responded to the incident. He said it was a western rattlesnake. The species, also known as the North Pacific rattlesnake, is common in northern California but is not typically found in southern California.
Boyd said he doesn't think it's possible that the snake slipped into the package while it was in transit, noting that it appears to have been mailed intentionally.
Attempted murders by rattlesnakes are not without precedent in Southern California.
In 1978, Los Angeles trial attorney Paul Morantz nearly died after being bitten by a rattlesnake someone had placed in his mailbox. Police arrested Charles Dederich, who ran the Synanon paramilitary cult, against which Morantz had won a trial, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder; They also arrested two of Dederich's foot soldiers, known as Imperial Marines, on suspicion of attempted murder.
The preliminary hearing presented the snake, floating in formaldehyde, as Exhibit 1. The three men pleaded no contest, avoiding trial.
Paul Morantz at a press conference after being bitten by a rattlesnake left in his mailbox in 1978.
(Courtesy of Chaz Morantz)
While the Twentynine Palms incident may seem unlikely, it is possible, according to local wildlife experts.
Rattlesnakes are hardy: They can survive up to six months without food or water, as long as temperatures aren't too extreme, said Danielle Wall, a snake keeper who works in the high desert.
“It's 100% possible for a snake to survive in the mail that way, as long as it doesn't overheat or freeze,” he said.
Bowles learned Monday that a second, virtually identical package was recently mailed to his home in Florida. He has ordered his relatives to take it to the police station instead of opening it, he said.
“I'm trying to find out if I have enemies.” he said.
“I'm not a gangster,” he added. “I'm a truck driver.”
