Arizona man arrested, accused of freezing live animals

An Arizona man has been arrested on 94 felony counts of animal cruelty after admitting to freezing live animals, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.

The agency announced on Thursday that Michael Patrick Turland, 43, of Golden Valley, Arizona, was arrested Wednesday morning at his former residence in Golden Valley after authorities found 183 animals frozen in a freezer at the home.

“Officers located dogs, turtles, lizards, birds, snakes, mice and rabbits,” a news release states. “Several of the animals appeared to have been frozen alive due to their body positioning.”

The Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into Turland after authorities were called to his former residence on North Kaba Road on April 3.

According to the agency, a woman informed deputies that multiple dead animals had been found inside the freezer. The woman said she lives in Phoenix and had reached an agreement with Turland for him to take possession of her snakes and breed them.

“After a few months she was not able to reach Turland to get her snakes back,” the news release states.

On Wednesday, Turland returned to the address.

“When interviewed, Turland eventually admitted to placing some of the animals in the freezer when they were still alive,” the news release states.

Turland was booked at the Mohave County Detention Center. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Turland also recently resided in Michigan.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.