No wriggle room: Kentucky snake preacher has five reptiles confiscated after illegally attempting to transport them through Tennessee
A snake-handling Kentucky preacher has been forced to leave five venomous serpents in Tennessee after he was caught trying to move them through the state.
Jamie Coots pleaded guilty to illegally having poisonous snakes that were confiscated after a traffic stop in Knox County, Tennessee, on Jan. 31.
Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of transporting the snakes and wildlife officials agreed to give back the boxes Coots was using to carry the snakes from Alabama to his Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
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![Jamie Coots, pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church of Middlesboro, Ky, stands on a bench before the church, singing and holding a rattlesnake](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/27/article-2285142-184F6A6F000005DC-170_634x486.jpg)
Jamie Coots, pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church of Middlesboro, Ky, stands on a bench before the church, singing and holding a rattlesnake
Coots will be on unsupervised probation for a year, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported .
The three rattlesnakes and two copperheads found in his car were taken to a zoo in Sevierville, Tennessee.
Coots’ attorney said his client legally bought the snakes in Alabama for $800 and could legally possess them in Kentucky.
Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers initially stopped Coots on Interstate 40 for having windows with too dark a tint. After being released with a warning, he was stopped again.
This time, wildlife officials were called and the snakes were confiscated.
According to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officer Joe Durnin, normally only zoos or other educational institutions will get a permit to have poisonous snakes. He said there are specific requirements for transporting the snakes, including putting them in cloth bags and labeling the containers.
![Jamie Coots preaches at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro, Kentucky](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/27/article-2285142-1851B858000005DC-20_634x430.jpg)
Jamie Coots preaches at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro, Kentucky
'Even if you are trained and experienced in handling them, there is always the issue of who else is going to be in the home who may be in contact with it,' During said in court.
Tennessee bars possession of any type of poisonous snake.
Coots said he misunderstood Tennessee law, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to pass through Tennessee.
'I was under the impression you had 24 hours to transport through or in and out of Tennessee,'Coots said.
Coots had claimed that his need for the snakes was Biblical.
![Rattlesnake shake: Coots had claimed that his need for the snakes was Biblical](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/27/article-2285142-1851B8C7000005DC-832_634x690.jpg)
Rattlesnake shake: Coots had claimed that his need for the snakes was Biblical
Chapter 16 of the Gospel According to Mark states, in part: 'And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.'
Coots takes that verse at face value.
'We literally believe they want us to take up snakes,' said Coots. 'We've been serpent handling for the past 20 or 21 years.'
Owning certain snakes in Kentucky is legal — within limits. The serpents must be a native species and a person can have no more than five of each variety.
In this case, the timber rattlers and copperheads would have qualified under the law, said Mark Marraccini, a spokesman for Fish and Wildlife Resources.
'You cannot get permits for exotic species, ones that are non-native,' Marraccini said.
![snakes](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/27/article-2285142-1851B868000005DC-802_306x324.jpg)
![snake](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/27/article-2285142-1851B8BD000005DC-790_306x324.jpg)
Coots' car was found to have three rattlesnakes, left, and two copperheads, right, found in it
Coots had permits for multiple snakes — northern copperheads, southern copperheads, timber rattlers and cottonmouths — until 2012, when the licenses expired. Coots said he let them lapse after being laid off from his job as a surface coal miner.
Snake handling has led Coots into trouble in recent years. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources in 2008 charged Coots with trafficking in snakes. Coots lost his right to get a license for a year, but a family member applied for and received the permits.
Snakes can also be brought into Kentucky, but a separate permit is needed for that.
'That's essentially so we know what's coming into the state,' Marraccini said.
Coots buys the snakes from suppliers in South Carolina and Alabama. Getting them may be a challenge in the future.
'If I can find a way around Tennessee, I won't go through there anymore,' Coots said. 'We're going to have to go pretty quick and get more when a little money comes back in. We need them.'
VIDEO Pastor Coots using the reptiles in his church
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