The Dothan Police Department began looking into what happened to 'Leonardo' Wednesday night after receiving multiple complaints.
Ultimately, officers found and arrested the 19-year-old who begged for likes on his video before setting the animal on fire. He used Facebook livestream to record himself torturing the defenseless animal at his residence in the 900 block of Chickasaw Street.
According to police, the Facebook Live video showed Allen pouring alcohol on a turtle and saying "give me 100 views and I'll light it."
After igniting the turtle, Allen went on to say "give me 200 views or this (expletive) is gonna die."
“We got a call and we logged into Facebook, and saw he was live,” Dothan Police Capt. Will Benny said.
Benny said after police found Allen’s Facebook page they looked for him, found where he lived and arrested him.
“He was still outside and the turtle was still there. There was some people there who actually took a picture of him getting arrested,” Benny said. “He gave a statement, and he said he was doing it for the views.”
According to a statement posted on the Dothan Police Department’s Facebook page, Allen gave a taped confession to the crime.
The department said Leonardo was doing well as of Thursday morning. Alabama fish and game officials are involved in the case, and they are taking care of transporting the reptile to Big Bend Wildlife Sanctuary in Enterprise. He will undergo rehabilitation there and ultimately be released into the wild.
By the way, the Alabama Game Wardens office has identified Leonardo as a gopher tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus), which are listed a "threatened" in the endangered Species Act. They are protected in the state of Alabama.
Police said 19-year-old James Terrance Allen was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, which is a felony, following the incident Wednesday. Allen was taken to the Dothan City Jail and later transferred to the Houston County Jail. Benny said bail was set at $10,000.
“Unfortunately I have seen things like this before, but fortunately it is not very common,” Benny said. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen a turtle set on fire before. But I’ve seen abuse cases before for no other reason just to abuse them.”
Court records show Allen - AT JUST 19 YEARS OF AGE(!) - to be a three-time convicted felon.
Records show Allen received a 46-month prison sentence in April for two burglary convictions and a felony possession of an altered firearm charge. The 46-month sentence was suspended for three years probation.
An investigator with the Dothan Police Department tells us the Alabama Game Wardens also plan to charge Allen in the crime, but that charge will be a misdemeanor.
JAMES ALLEN'S PRIOR ARRESTS:
Two teens Spencer Trawick, 18, and James Allen, 18, charged with burglarizing occupied home
Dothan police arrested two teenagers Thursday and charged them with burglarizing an occupied home on Whiddon Street.
Dothan Police Sgt. Lynn Watkins confirmed police investigators arrested Spencer Lamont Trawick, 18, of Tacoma Street, and James Terrance Allen, 18, of Chickasaw Street, charging both of them with a single felony count of second-degree burglary.
Watkins said the burglary happened around 10 a.m. and patrol officers captured the two suspects less than an hour later. Watkins was charged with stealing a video game console and some clothing while the home was occupied by a man.
Both Trawick and Allen were taken to the Houston County Jail and each held on $30,000 bail. (Aug 7, 2015)
Dothan teen James Terrance Allen, 18, charged in two burglaries, one in Garden District
Dothan police arrested the second suspect Wednesday in a commercial burglary.
Police Lt. Will Glover said police arrested James Terrance Allen, 18, of Chickasaw Street, and charged him with two felony counts of third-degree burglary.
Glover said one of the burglary charges stemmed from the burglary of the Ace’s Den business located on West Powell Street earlier this month. He said police also charged Allen with a residential burglary in the 400 block of North Orange Street.
Allen became the second person arrested in the Ace’s Den burglary. Police arrested 28-year-old Lamarcus Tyrone Jackson earlier this month on a similar third-degree burglary charge. (Dothan Eagle - Jan 21, 2016)
Arrests: Dec. 25-31, 2016
James Terrance Allen, 18, Dothan, second-degree possession of marijuana
