Snakes, alligator recovered in Brooklyn apartment; 1 under arrest

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT (WABC) -- Police officers executing a search warrant in Brooklyn Tuesday morning recovered several exotic animals, and the owner is now facing charges.

Talk about a wild discovery, from the outside it looks like an ordinary Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, but what officers found inside an Atlantic Avenue unit there Tuesday morning was anything but! Nine boa constrictors, an alligator, not to mention live ammunition, and this isn't the first time the owner has been caught with pets like these.

Photos were snapped on scene and posted to Twitter by the NYPD who also uncovered live ammunition inside.

The owner of the replies, 44-year-old Johnnie Morgan, was arrested and is now facing reckless endangerment charges.

"The man did not deserve to be arrested for having and loving animals," a neighbor said.

A neighbor claims everyone in the building knew about the exotic animals and no one seemed to have any problems with the pets.

Police say Morgan has 17 prior arrests dating back to 1992, including similar charges for having similar animals in the past.

"He did not bother anybody, he was peaceful, the landlord knew about it, so why should anybody have anything to say about it?" Dickson said.

Although New York has very strict limitations on the types of pets people can have, this neighbor feels Morgan doesn't deserve to be behind bars.

"He didn't abuse. He was one person that rescued animals, like if someone couldn't take care of their animal he would actually take them from them and try to raise them himself. He fed them, he did everything for them, it's just wrong that they did that to that man," Dickson said.

According to regulations, the following animals may not be kept as pets in New York City:

--Wolf, fox, coyote, hyena, dingo, jackal, other undomesticated dogs

--Lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, puma, panther, mountain lion, cheetah, cougar, bobcat, lynx, other undomesticated cats

--Ferret, weasel, mink, badger, wolverine, skunk, mongoose

--Squirrel, raccoon, bat

--Bear, elephant, zebra, rhinoceros, giraffe, hippopotamus

--Tarantula, black widow, other venomous spiders

--Iguana, gila monster, many other lizards

--Monkey, ape, chimpanzee, gorilla

--Viper, cobra, python, anaconda, many other snakes

--Alligator, crocodile, snapping turtle, other turtles less than 4 inches in length

--Eagle, hawk, falcon, owl, vulture, emu, ostrich, other large or predatory birds

--Rooster, duck, goose, turkey

--Bee (other than a honeybee), hornet, wasp, other venomous insects

--Gopher, woodchuck, beaver, hedgehog, porcupine, other large rodents

--Deer, antelope, llama, camel

--Sheep, goat, pigs, and most farm animals

--Kangaroo, opossum, koala, other marsupials

--Dolphin, whale, seal, sea lion, walrus, other sea mammals