Complaint: Parrot's Leg Broken After Exotic Animals Stolen

Two men are facing charges after they allegedly stole a Banana King Snake and Pallid Blue Quaker Parrot from Pet World’s Waukesha locations.

Obed L. Garcia-Rivera, 18, of Puerto Rico, and Carlos J. Santiago, 44, of Waukesha, were charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court on Friday with three combined counts of misdemeanor retail theft for stealing the animals in 2008 and 2010. If convicted, Santiago faces up to 18 months in prison and $20,000 in fines, and Garcia-Rivera faces up to nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint, on Nov. 13, officers were called to the Waukesha Pet World after an employee reported that a family had entered the store and purchased items with cash, while two men went into the reptile room, took the snake from its tank and placed it in Garcia-Rivera’s pocket.

Officers then talked to an employee of the West Allis Pet World, who had transferred from the Waukesha location and recognized the men as the same ones who came into the store in 2008 and stole the parrot valued at $899, while members of the family purchased one pound of parrot food, according to the complaint.

The animals were recovered from a Waukesha residence. The complaint states the parrot had a broken leg after someone had tried to remove a metal identification band.