Dad of teen accused of turtle torture: We're animal lovers

The father of an East Patchogue teen charged with animal cruelty after allegedly setting fire to and stabbing a 12-pound snapping turtle said his son comes from a family of animal lovers.

"He's a great kid," said the father of Thomas Gorman, 18. "We don't know what happened.

"We love animals," said the father, who declined to identify himself. "Thomas just helped deliver our chihuahua's puppies. He was up with her all night."

Gorman and Roark Xanthos, also 18, of Bellport, doused the turtle with gasoline, set it on fire, and stabbed and killed it with a metal pole, police said.

Snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtle found throughout the Long Island area. They can weigh more than 50 pounds, though 35 is about average, with the shell measuring 8 to 20 inches.

The teens found the turtle on the side of the road in Bellport early May 22, said Sgt. Bryan McMenemy of the Suffolk Police Fifth Squad.

They put it in a plastic milk crate and went to the home of a friend, knocking on his window and asking him if he wanted it, McMenemy said. "It was a very large turtle," McMenemy said.

The friend said no and to go away, McMenemy said.

When the friend and his family left their house, Xanthos and Gorman returned with the turtle around 9:30 a.m., police said.

The teens placed the turtle in a makeshift fire pit they made with rocks from the yard, doused it with gasoline and set it on fire, police said in a release.

After burning the turtle, the teens killed it by stabbing it through its shell with a long metal pole, police said.

The family came home and called police when they found the turtle's carcass.

"It was probably two kids bored, don't have anything better to do," McMenemy said. "It's horrible."

Detectives charged Xanthos, of 20 Bellview Ave., and Gorman, of 320 Bayview Ave., with animal cruelty and third-degree criminal trespass, both misdemeanors. Each charge is punishable by up to a year in jail. Xanthos could not be reached.

Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County SPCA, could not expand on the charges.

Xanthos was arrested Friday and Gorman on Saturday. The two were arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip.

A necropsy performed on the turtle showed it was a female but could not determine its age.