The man who put a Santa Ana neighborhood on edge by reporting the sighting of a venomous viper earlier in the week, then recanting the story, saying he made it all up, could be arrested and issued a citation, police said.
On Monday, reptile experts and police responded to a backyard in the 1400 block of Cypress Avenue after resident Joel Ciprian alerted his neighbors of a Gaboon viper and showed them a photo he allegedly took of the snake. He also sent that photo to the Santa Ana Police Department, which led to a community alert of the sighting.
Residents and officers describe three days of unnecessary fear in the community and the deployment of police resources in and around Cypress Avenue as the hoaxer stood by his story…