A California man was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty after cages of cats and several rattlesnakes, some of them dead, were found in a truck in northeastern Arizona, according to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded to a call around 5 p.m. June 20 about a truck full of animals sitting in the sun on Highway 68 in Golden Valley, the Sheriff鈥檚 Office said.
Animal control officers were called to the scene and found cages of cats inside and in the cab of the truck. One of the kittens had died, the Sheriff's Office said.
David Leslie Cox, 76, of Hesperia, California, was confirmed to be the owner of the truck.
Cox "hesitantly" shared that a baby Mojave Green rattlesnake was in a small aquarium inside the truck after officers asked him what was inside, the Sheriff's Office said.
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Animal control officers also found multiple buckets of live and dead rattlesnakes in the truck, according to the Sheriff's Office.
After searching the truck, five rattlesnakes, three dead and two alive, and 16 cats, including the dead kitten, were found and removed from the truck.
Deputies arrested Cox, who is facing 22 counts of cruelty to animals and one count of felony endangerment, the Sheriff's Office said.
The endangerment charge comes from an animal control officer not being alerted by Cox that rattlesnakes were inside the truck.
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