A Man From California Who Attacked A Tortoise In 2021 Was Spared Jail Time: After trespassing into a preschool while intoxicated and attacking a pet tortoise named Michelangelo last year, a guy from Northern California escaped punishment.
California’s SAN JOSE According to The San Jose Mercury News, a man from Northern California escaped jail time on Friday after he drunkenly trespassed into a preschool last year and injured a pet tortoise named Michelangelo.
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 incident, the owner of the school found Michelangelo wounded, pierced in the shell by 6-inch (15-centimeter) shards from a wooden garden gate post. According to The 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 therapy, by a judge on Friday. The newspaper reported that earlier this year, he had entered a no-contest plea to charges of animal mistreatment, commercial burglary, and vandalism.
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 Friday request for comment from the publication.
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