Pet store brawl over reptile care leads to arrests, injuries

A pet store argument over proper reptile care escalated into a brawl that left three people in the hospital and two arrested.

The Jurassic Jungle in Fall River was the scene of a violent Saturday altercation stemming from a dispute over how best to care for reptiles that ended with extensive injuries and charges against two brothers, the Herald News reported.

Brothers James Dugan-Weeks, 27, and Allen Weeks, 30, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and assault-related charges on Monday after their weekend arrest for allegedly fighting with customers at the pet store where Weeks was an employee and Dugan-Weeks was a volunteer, MassLive reported.

One customer told police the brothers had allegedly been drinking and smoking pot before Dugan-Weeks got into an argument with him over reptile care that ended with him being kicked in the face and choked to the point of unconsciousness, the victim said in court documents referenced by the Herald News.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it out of that store alive,” the alleged victim was quoted by the Herald News.

When two people entered the store and attempted to break up the fighting, Weeks and Dugan-Weeks allegedly locked the door and began punching and kicking all three people inside, according to MassLive.

An attorney for Dugan-Weeks said the store has surveillance footage that will corroborate the defendants’ version of how things unfolded inside, the Herald News said court records indicated.

The brothers are being held pending a Thursday court date to determine if they are too dangerous to release, the Herald News added.