MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Police found several snakes, reptiles, and a hedgehog dead in an abandoned storage unit.
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Police were called to a storage unit in Mayfield Heights, Ohio on July 11.
Management at a storage unit facility entered the unit because the tenant was two months past due, CBS-affiliate WOIO reported.
Management then discovered all the reptiles.
Management told police the suspect, Erwin Lawery, purchased the unit in April using an online account.
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Management had last spoken to Lawery on June 27.
Officers found a large glass aquarium with a malnourished lizard inside, several turtles in a plastic storage tub, more lizards in other containers, and snakes in containers.
Police said there was also a dead hedgehog in a storage bin and several dead snakes in another container.
“It should be noted that storage locker [redacted] is a 10′ X 10′ enclosure that is not separately climate controlled," the report said.
The Herps Alive Foundation responded to the scene to take the reptiles.
While police were on scene, the storage unit management made contact with Lawery and told him some of the animals were dead.
Officers overheard Lawery respond, “I don’t care about which ones are dead.”
Lawery faces 16 counts of cruelty to animals, and a warrant was filed for his arrest.
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