GUTHRIE, Okla. (KFOR) – A man who made national headlines after he was pulled over with a rattlesnake, an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe and radioactive powdered uranium is now sharing his side of the story.
“Didn’t think this would be the way I’d get my 15 minutes of fame,” Stephen Jennings told News 4.
Thanks to a traffic stop in Guthrie back in June, the name Stephen Jennings is now known around the world.
“Some of the websites tried to make me sound like I had plans, some kind of a terrorist plan or mad scientist. One of them made it sound like it’s back to the future,” Jennings said.
Jennings spoke to News 4 for the first time on Friday. He said he’s hoping to put the rumor mill to rest.
“When they saw that I had a rattlesnake, I guess they saw a big story,” Jennings said. “A friend of mine caught it and brought it to me, and I realized it was about to shed it’s skin. I wanted to let it shed it’s skin, get some good pictures of it and I was going to take it out and release it.”
Back in June during the traffic stop, officials with Guthrie PD claimed Jennings jokingly said he was going to “make a mega-snake.”
However, Jennings claims he never said that.
“Never said anything of the type,” Jennings said.
Jennings was booked into jail on several charges, including possession of a stolen vehicle and transporting an open container.
However, Jennings said he didn’t steal the vehicle. He said it was given to him by a friend.
The stolen vehicle charge was later dismissed.
As for the rattlesnake, it was rattlesnake season and Jennings has a hunting license. So he’s facing no charges for that, or the uranium, which is not illegal to possess if you have a license for it, or only have a small amount of it.
“I haul a lot of scrap metal. Sometimes, you come across something that came from a dentist office or a hospital and if it has any radiation, scrap yard won’t take the whole load,” Jennings said. “Just don’t always believe what you hear. Wait until you hear both sides.”
Jennings is due in court on January 9th at two p.m. for the charges he is still facing.