Deschutes County Sheriff's Office cruiser

A 68-year-old La Pine man was arrested and charged with 25 counts of animal neglect after authorities discovered more than a hundred carcasses of snakes, lizards, tortoises and tarantulas in his abandoned La Pine house.

The home’s owner, William Samuel Griffiths, was being held Thursday in the Deschutes County jail pending arraignment.

The animals were first discovered in October when a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to the residence on the 50000 block of Deer Street south of La Pine for a wellness check. The caller, who went to the house to retrieve property from a business in Bend where Griffiths used to work, reported seeing several reptile carcasses inside and outside the home.

The deputy and an animal control officer did a wellness check inside the home and found more than 100 “dead and rotting” animal carcasses inside, according to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. No live animals were located.

Griffiths was indicted by a grand jury in Deschutes County Circuit Court on June 13. He was arrested in Bend on Thursday.