Desert tortoise found with hole drilled into its shell

A Pahrump man faces animal cruelty charges after a desert tortoise with a hole drilled into its shell was found in his backyard.

Deputies discovered the injured tortoise while investigating Philip Peng, 71, for an unrelated crime, Nye County Sheriff ’s Office Sgt. Adam Tippetts said.

A man had walked into a Pahrump doughnut shop the morning of July 12 and pointed a gun at an employee “after an exchange of words,” Tippetts said. He left on a bicycle.

Deputies identified the suspect as Peng. On July 14, deputies went to his house on the 2000 block of Idaho Street to arrest him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and pointing a gun at another person.

While at his house, deputies found the desert tortoise in his backyard, Tippetts said. The tortoise was tethered with a cable tied to a hole drilled into its shell, he said.

The tortoise is now at an animal shelter, Tippetts said.