In August, Kenneth Davis, 42, saw a wild, 6-foot-long blacksnake in his
neighborhood in Lawrence Township, N.J., and decided to coax it, probably as a
joke, toward the residence of his friend Michael File. Michael's father saw
the snake in his yard and stomped it to death, angering Davis, who knocked the
father down. Michael File came to his dad's defense, but Davis picked up the
snake, twirled it over his head, and began to beat Michael with it. Michael
File then grabbed a baseball bat and hit Davis just as police and rescue
workers arrived. (According to police, alcohol was involved.) [Gloucester
County (N.J.) Times, 8-24-04]