Man indicted for sending 8-legged letter to girlfriend
 

A Florida man has been indicted for mailing a live tarantula to his girlfriend, the Tampa Tribune has reported.

The daily said John Galarza, 37, of Apollo Beach, Florida, was charged with sending "a non-mailable matter" with intent to kill or injure.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The paper did not say why Galarza sent the package nor whether his girlfriend received it.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s909726.htm

So uh... HOW was it sent? I mean did he stick it in a case? I mean they had to know what it was, so it had to have been in some sort of cage. Thats not something you can stick in a envelope. I could see Animal Rights Activates going after this guy, but past that I'm clueless. HOW could it hurt her if it's in a cage? I don't see a tarantula and think, "OOH! I"M GONNA LET IT LOOSE AND SEE WHAT DOES IN MY HOUSE!!!!"

Besides, I never knew you COULDN'T mail anything you wanted. Where is this such list? (I know one of you has it :D) I remember a while ago reading about some guy that actually boxed himself up, and shipped himself to his neighbor's house. I'm pretty sure that was un-mailable too, but I don't recall him going to prison or paying a fine.

Besides that... does his GIRLFRIEND (aka why would there be the intent to kill your GF?) like Tarantula's? If she did.. doesn't this kinda contradict the charges a little bit?

If you mail a brick, they'll deliver it, but it'll be a fine powder in a bag labelled "Inspected by US DEA"

That sounds like a challenge. ;)

if someone mails a brick to anyone i wanna see before and after photos of the pkg upooin deliver and receipt

Hmmm .... didn't think that tarantulas were venemous ... :confused:

I'm pretty sure they are venemous, but i don't think they are aggressive enough to attack and bite a human

No, they're extremely docile.

i know you can ship leopard geckos...

and you have to be able to ship tarantulas... because ive seen places you can order them online...

maybe it had to do with how it was packaged... like a brown box... and as soon as its open the tarrantula is free to run out...

Mabey he didn't use enough stamps...

I know over here if you mail any live animal by post you might as well send it to your lawyer.

Yeah, this is ridiculous, because tarantulas are generally rather gentle, and that has to be the absolute WORST murder plot I've ever heard. Something's not right about all of this.

itd be even better if the tarantula was de-fanged

i would have just walked over and threw it at her, that would have been much cooler. Mabye they broke up and he was to emotional to go over and give it back to her, so he just mailed it,

No, this is beautiful. Imagine looking through all that packaging styrafoam only to find a hairy ass spider. OWNED!!

I was thinking the same thing Phaenx.

I don't think your everyday tarantula is harmful to humans, I'm pretty sure its only VERY select species of them that live in remote areas of the world.

They must have had reason to suspect he was going to do something to his girlfriend and searched the package.

Re: Man indicted for sending 8-legged letter to girlfriend
 

um.. those spiders can't kill a human

Here's the list. It's part of Publication 52, from www.usps.com. Explosives, compressed gases, aerosols, weapons, contraband like Cuban cigars and powdered rhino horn are some of the items on the list.

PDF format:
http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52.pdf

HTML:
http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52_print.htm

An excerpt:

If you're wondering, the scorpion exception is that they are sent by surface mail only, within the continental US, and for medical or scientific research (i.e. antivenin manufacture), and there's very clear instructions on exactly how the scorp has to be packaged.

-Mikey

Wow... what an idiot. And he'll spend how many years in jail now?

DUH!

I bet I could get a tarantula to bite me. See how the little fucker enjoys me slapping it's face with my finger.

dsaf
 

lol what a dumbass. wouldnt the tarantula die on the way there?

1) Yes, mailing animals is not difficult if you find the right people.

2) tarantulas are extreemly, extreemly passive beasts.

3) I would assume they are... something.. de-fanged? for pets. i dunno for sure


to me it sounds like Idiot Agent Without A Fucking Clue got the package and is after the guy out of ignorance.

when i read this last week they didn't mention her reaction. for all i know it was just a fuck up.

i wonder how much trouble he will actually get in

Ok, say this worked. The police come to the murder scene, find the girl dead from a venomous bite which they attribute from an arachnid of some sort. See an opened package by the dead body... has a return address on it.

Hrm.

Tarantulas are mildly poisonous, and come as pets with their fangs- some strains are supposed to be more aggressive than others- (info comes from a friend with several as pets)- but it would be nigh impossible for it to kill the girl- sounds to me that he wanted to send a nasty message- shock value and the like- and got slapped by the post anthrax scare postal regs- the gov making an example of this moron.....

what a dumbass

i had a tarantula as a kid.. you've got to be pretty stupid to get bit by one. They are very very passive.