News
California Man Avoids Prison For Attacking A Tortoise In 2021
(CTN NEWS) – SAN JOSE – In Northern California, a drunken trespasser has avoided prison today after he attacked Michelangelo the pet tortoise last year.
The 42-year-old guy took thousands of dollars worth of goods in the days leading up to and during the attack on Michelangelo, a decades-old African sulcata, in January 2021.
He was also connected to earlier break-ins at the East San Jose institution.
After the assault, the owner of the school found Michelangelo wounded, pierced in the shell by 15-centimeter shards from a wooden garden gate post.
San Jose: Man ordered to mental-health treatment for 2021 preschool tortoise attack https://t.co/fVZkoZW1Ab
— Mercury News (@mercnews) December 17, 2022
According to The San Jose Mercury News, the man then damaged flood lighting and placed the shattered glass on the tortoise’s back while jamming a rake handle between the animal’s head and leg.
The man was given a two-year probationary period as well as required mental health and drug abuse treatment by a judge today.
The newspaper reported that earlier this year, he had entered a no-contest plea to charges of animal mistreatment, commercial burglary, and vandalism.
Dr. Tal Solomon moves Michelangelo, the 70-year-old African tortoise, and San Jose preschool pet, at ARCHVET Animal Hospital in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group via AP)
Additionally, the man is now prohibited from owning any animals for ten years.
According to his public defender, his client’s actions toward the tortoise were the product of severe intoxication rather than intentional cruelty to animals, according to the publication.
The preschool did not respond to a request for comment from the publication.
RELATED CTN NEWS:
Asake’s London Concert Venue Crush Left 4 People Critically Injured
