A pet tortoise stolen during a home invasion got to ride shotgun when Albuquerque police returned the reptile to its owner.
Officers responding to the Sunday evening home invasion were able to get a description of the car in which three suspects drove off with the 10-year-old tortoise.
Police then were able to locate and stop the car. They found straw from the tortoise's pen on the car's front seat but not the tortoise itself.
However, questioning of the suspects enabled police to find the tortoise in the home of a friend of one of the suspects.
The tortoise was returned to a tearful owner. The three men were arrested and jailed on suspicion of aggravated burglary and other crimes.
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