Lee Thompson: Police hunt man who kept crocodile in his bedroom
Lee Thompson has a number of distinctive tattoos, including a snake on his head and an eagle with the word "mum" on his arm.
Friday 17 August 2018 20:24, UK
Police are hunting a man who failed to appear in court after being charged over keeping a crocodile in his bedroom.
Lee Thompson - who goes by the name Snake because of a distinctive tattoo on the right side of his head - kept a four-foot-long spectacled caiman as part of a reptilian menagerie that included cobras, copperheads and pythons.
Officers found a total of 16 live snakes at his home in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex back in January, and another seven snakes were found dead.
He was due to appear at Basildon Magistrates' Court on Friday, but the 36-year-old - whose home was originally raided as part of a drugs investigation - failed to turn up.
In his absence, he was found guilty of two counts of keeping a dangerous wild animal without a licence, two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and two counts of breaching a disqualification.
Essex Police has issued an appeal to help trace him, with the public advised that he boasts a number of striking pieces of body art in addition to the snake tattoo.
Thompson has a scorpion tattooed on the left side of his neck, an eagle with the word "mum" on his upper left arm, a snake on his left arm, Celtic bands on both arms and a Manchester United badge on his right hand.
Accompanying the club crest are the names Olivia and Mason.
He is described as 5ft 8in tall, of medium build, with brown eyes and cropped brown hair.
Police said he has links to Wickford, Laindon, Basildon and Westcliff in Essex, as well as Manchester.