The 42-year-old was also linked to other break-ins at an East San Jose school, and stole thousands of dollars worth of goods in the days before and after the attack on a decade-old African Salcata Michelangelo in January 2021. ,
The school owner found Michelangelo bleeding after the attack last year, crucified in a shell of 6-inch (15-centimetre) pieces from a wooden garden gate post. The Mercury News reported that the man had also wedged a rake handle between the animal’s head and legs and smashed a flood lamp and placed the broken glass on the turtle’s back.
A judge on Friday sentenced the man to two years’ probation and mandatory mental health and substance abuse treatment. The newspaper reported that he pleaded no contest to charges of animal abuse, commercial theft and vandalism earlier this year.
The man has also now been banned from keeping any animal for 10 years. His public defender said his client’s behavior toward the turtle was the result of intoxication rather than animal cruelty, the newspaper wrote.
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The preschool did not return the newspaper’s request for comment Friday.
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