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Beef between neighbors ends with one turning iconic Texas wildlife into potential deadly weapon, police say.

Affidavit: “Deputies observed that the snake’s rattles had been removed.”

Police call it a botched case of “rattlesnake revenge.”
Two men who live in RVs next to each other in rural Caldwell County got into an argument last week that authorities say escalated, with one of them turning iconic Texas wildlife into a potentially deadly weapon.

It happened when one of them stumbled upon a rattlesnake, removed its rattle with his own teeth so its signature warning sound could not be heard, then turned it loose inside his unsuspecting neighbor’s home, according to authorities.

No one was bitten — except the snake.

The case baffled police and prosecutors, but Ryan Felton Sauter, a 39-year-old construction worker, stands charged with deadly conduct