WESTFIELD – A pet snake apparently survived an attack by a woman who had been enraged when her boyfriend insulted her.
City police report that a call was received early Saturday morning, at 2:48 o’clock, from a female Summer Street resident who said that her boyfriend had assaulted her.
Officer Jared Rowe was the first officer to arrive at the multi-family house and was quickly followed by Sgt. Robert Saunders and officers Stephen Gonglik and Efrain Luna.
Rowe reports that when he arrived he found two parties yelling at each other. Rowe reports the female party appeared to be intoxicated and said the male party had punched and kicked her while the male party said the woman had stabbed one of his pet snakes.
The male resident told Rowe that he had returned from work to find his girlfriend had been drinking and an argument developed.
The woman said both that the man had knocked her to the ground with a karate type punch and also said he had thrown her to the ground where he kicked and punched her during the argument but the officer saw no sign on injuries.
The woman also said that the man who called had made insulting accusations toward her.
The man said that the woman punched and scratched his face and Rowe reports he observed lacerations on the man’s face.
The man told Rowe that his girlfriend had entered his snake room and had used a knife to repeatedly stab one of his snakes. He said when his girlfriend started to stab his snake he grabbed her by her arm and hair to pull her away from the snakes.
The man said that Rowe reports that when he asked the woman, identified as Sarah L. Meade, 24, of 21 Summer St., why she had stabbed the snake, she told him that she knew how important her boyfriend’s snakes were to him, so she stabbed the snake to get back at him, because she was upset by his accusations.
The knife used in the attack was seized as evidence and digital images of the snake’s puncture wounds were recorded.
Gonglik said Monday that the snake survived the attack and was moving when the officers left but was very agitated and would not allow anybody to touch it.
Rowe reports Meade was arrested for assault and battery in a domestic relationship and for cruelty to an animal.
Meade was arraigned Monday in Westfield District Court and placed on pretrial probation. She was released on her personal recognizance pending a Dec. 1 hearing.
