Oklahoma Police Find Uranium, Rattlesnake & Whiskey In Stolen Car
A man pulled over by Oklahoma police for an expired tag gave officers quite the surprise when they found more than was bargained for. Aside from allegedly driving a stolen Ford Explorer, the man was also found to have a canister of radioactive uranium used to create nuclear electricity, according to KOCO 5 News.
Officers also reportedly found a rattlesnake in the vehicle. The snake was found in an aquarium in the back seat as the vehicle was taken to the impound lot, according to ABC News. Furthermore, a bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey was also discovered.
So far, things do not look good for the man later identified as 41-year-old Stephen Jennings. Police in Guthrie, Oklahoma, a town located about 30 miles from Oklahoma City, also said that Jennings’ driver’s license was suspended and the car he was driving was reported stolen.
Jennings then told officers he had a firearm in the center console.
“So now he’s got a rattlesnake, a stolen vehicle, firearm and somebody under arrest,” Guthrie Police Sgt. Anthony Gibbs told KFOR,
Officers said when they searched the car, they found the gun and an opened bottle of the Kentucky whiskey. A silver canister containing a yellow powdery substance was also found inside the car, according to police.
“The canister advised that the yellow in color powdery substance was uranium,” read the police report.
“When that happens, of course, we call in a company that deals with that specifically, and it’s taken safely into possession,” Gibbs said to CNN. “The uranium is the wild card in that situation.”
The Emergency Management Institute responded and verified that the substance was radioactive material.
“It was nothing we were concerned of as far as him using it as a weapon of mass destruction,” Gibbs told NBC News. “It’s very low radioactivity.”
Jennings was charged with a felony count of possession of a stolen vehicle and misdemeanor counts of transporting an open container of liquor, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended driver’s license, and failure to carry a security verification form, according to KOCO 5.
Also in the car was a woman identified as Rachael Rivera, 30. She was charged with the possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.
The Guthrie Police Department has not filed charges related to the uranium or the rattlesnake. Officers are still looking into a potential motive, according to CNN.
Jennings remains jailed in Logan County in Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press.
Oklahoma police say they found a rattlesnake, a canister of radioactive powdered uranium and an open bottle of whiskey during a traffic stop of a vehicle that was reported stolen. https://t.co/u4FVuWV0PD #odd
— AP Oddities (@AP_Oddities) July 11, 2019
