A Cambria County couple are facing animal cruelty charges after a number of reptiles were found either abandoned or dead inside a Richland Township home last October. Charged were 39-year-old Alphonso Ruffin of Virginia, and 35-year-old Jessica Knopsnider of Somerset. Authorities reportedly were called to the home last fall and discovered it to be in deplorable condition, with a number of animals found inside, including a python. The Cambria County Humane Society rescued the animals, however the python later died. Authorities say when the animals were discovered in October, the couple hadn’t been living in the home for a month. Both Ruffin and Knopsnider are facing four counts each of aggravated cruelty to animals. They are both awaiting preliminary hearings.
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