INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 2-foot-long false water cobra snake caused a stir this week when it was packed for St. Edward’s School and shipped in an unmarked container through the United Parcel Service.

A teacher at the school, Alexander Moir, said he ordered the reptile, which experts said is venomous but not dangerous to people, from a Chester, Va., pet store.

UPS officials said an incorrect ZIP code on the box sent it to the shipping company’s Pinellas Park location. When Moir called to check on the delivery of the package, UPS officials learned there was a live snake inside.

UPS contacted state wildlife officials, who contacted Vernon Yates, owner of the Wildlife Rescue and Rehab in Seminole, to retrieve the snake.

“The box should have been marked,” Yates said. “A school kid could have opened the box not knowing what was inside.”

Moir said the snake was supposed to be sent to his home, not to the school.

However, the package was addressed to St. Edward’s Drive, said Yates, who still had the box Friday. Video of the box in a report by WTSP-TV in Tampa showed the St. Edward’s name on the package label.

Moir said the snake is for his personal collection and has nothing to do with the school.

“This is a perfectly legal snake,” he said.

School officials said they did not know anything about the snake delivery.

They said they talked with Moir about the incident Friday. St. Edward’s School spokeswoman Elizabeth Thomason described the incident as a misunderstanding.

“The school did not order a snake, and no snake was delivered here,” Thomason said.

UPS allows customers to ship some live animals, but prohibits the shipping of any snakes, according to spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg. UPS officials are conducting an internal investigation about the matter. Staff at the Virginia pet store, Off the Ark, declined to comment Friday.

lamaur.stancil@scripps.com; colleen.wixon@scripps.com

ABOUT FALSE WATER COBRA SNAKES

The South American snake bears the distinction of being a snake with a powerful venom but is not considered dangerous to humans, said Bruce Dangerfield, animal control officer for the Vero Beach Police Department.

Dangerfield described the reptile as a rear-fanged snake, which means its venom would not impact a person who is bitten. Rather, the fangs would inject venom into smaller prey as it is being swallowed.

Florida requires permits for anyone who keeps a dangerous snake, but the false water snake is not on the list.

The snakes can grow up to 6 feet long and have a striped color scheme that can be black, yellow, brown or olive.

VERO LAKE ESTATES — An 8-foot-long Burmese python was found and captured Tuesday night, this one weighing between 40 and 50 pounds, officials said.

A resident found the snake, believed to have either escaped from a home or released into the wild by its owner, and called authorities.

The snake is being held at the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.
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FORT PIERCE — A 39-year-old Vero Beach man was arrested Saturday after being found with a short-barrel assault rifle outside a gun show at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce, according to a recently released arrest affidavit and a sheriff’s official.

James Mathew Kennedy, of the 1000 block of 27th Avenue Southwest, took the AR15-type rifle into the gun show, where he went to buy parts, officials said. They gave this account: The rifle had a barrel length about three inches shorter than is allowed without first going through a lengthy federal approval process.
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Nike Factory Store will hold its grand opening celebration starting 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at its newest location at the Vero Fashion Outlets.

The Nike Factory Store, 1824 94th Drive west of Interstate 95 in Indian River County, will offer an assortment of sport inspired footwear, apparel and equipment. (more…)

VERO BEACH — Two people were taken into custody Tuesday morning after law enforcement officials raided a house suspected of being a methamphetamine lab.

The Multi-Agency Criminal Enforcement Unit had been investigating the home for about a month and conducted some undercover purchases at the home in the 1300 block of 30th Avenue, Vero Beach, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Jeff Luther said.

“The evidence inside the home indicated an operation to cook meth for personal use, but we monitored a large amount of traffic to the home,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Darin Jones.
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Authorities announced Monday they made three arrests after three Storm Grove Middle School students were hospitalized when they became ill from snorting crushed Roxycodone pain pills and using other drugs.

The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said one of the sick students, a 13-year-old girl, named students at the school who were providing prescription drugs and marijuana to her and others, Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Jeff Luther said.

The Sheriff’s Office charged Halee Marie Webb, 14, of the 100 block of Harris Drive, Sebastian, and Jacob Scott Martin, 13, of the 100 block of Midvale Terrace, Sebastian, each with felony distribution of a controlled substance. Another 13-year-old girl had a juvenile affidavit filed against her for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, Luther said.
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The West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce-Vero Beach metro area is the smartest in Florida, but tied with Cleveland for brain power on a nationwide scale, according to The Daily Beast Web site.

The Daily Beast, an Internet-only news outlet, ranked the 55 most populated metro areas in the nation and placed the Treasure Coast and West Palm Beach region 31st on the list, with Tampa-St. Petersburg at 33, Jacksonville at 37, Miami at 39 and Orlando 46.

The Daily Beast based its rankings on the number of residents with bachelor’s degrees and graduate degrees, according to the U.S. Census; political engagement; available institutions of higher learning; and nonfiction book sales, as tracked by Nielsen BookScan.
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VERO BEACH — A 26-year-old woman who was speeding and weaving out of traffic on Interstate 95 is guilty of vehicular homicide of two motorcyclists she hit along the roadway.

A jury deliberated for a hour Wednesday afternoon before finding Dominique Brice, of Miami, guilty of killing the motorcyclists parked along the northbound lanes on Feb. 29, 2008, near the juncture of Indian River and St. Lucie counties. (more…)

VERO BEACH — A city clerk’s employee on medical leave is suing the city, contending she was sexually harassed while the city did nothing to help her, according to court files.

Janet Bickford said that starting in November 2007 an unnamed city board member began making repeated “sexual innuendoes,” culminating with the man allegedly kissing her on her lips against her will, according to a civil lawsuit filed in Indian River Circuit Court on Sept. 16.

Then, she said, city officials belittled her complaints, causing her distress.
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Three major Florida universities have branch campuses or partnerships with industry on the Treasure Coast and elsewhere in Florida there are more such academic satellites.

But remote site expansion of higher education on the Treasure Coast and across the state has been without guidance, said Frank Brogan, chancellor of the State University System of Florida. Brogan spent last week appearing before House and Senate education committees in Tallahassee. The former lieutenant governor and Florida Atlantic University president said he told lawmakers a plan is needed to grow higher education in the state. (more…)