Son of Arizona senator pleads not guilty in deaths of 21 pet dogs
The son of a U.S. Senator from Arizona has pleaded not guilty to charges of animal cruelty in the deaths of 21 dogs.
Reuters reports that Austin and Logan Flake pled not guilty to 21 felonies and seven misdemeanors. The charges stem from the deaths of 21 dogs in the Flakes' care at the Green Acre kennel in Phoenix in June 2014.
Austin is the son of the Republican Senator of Arizona, Jeff Flake. Austin and Logan were in charge of the kennel where the dogs were located while the kennel owners, Logan's parents, were out of town on a trip to Florida. Reuters says that Logan's parents, Jesse Todd and Maleisia Hughes, pled not guilty to 22 felonies, seven misdemeanors, and two counts of fraud. The fraud charges stem from the fact that the Hughes are alleged to have lied to several dog owners about their pets. They are said to have told some of the owners that their dogs ran away, despite the fact that the truth about their deaths was already known. The charges leveled against the Hughes and Flakes represent 21 dogs that died, and two that survived. The animals perished from heat exhaustion and suffocation because they were kept in a small room that did not have ventilation or air conditioning. The felony charges can carry up to 10 years in prison, although Reuters notes that most people charged with animal cruelty usually end up on probation. In addition to the criminal charges handed down after a grand jury investigation in October, the Flakes and Hughes are facing a civil lawsuit brought by the bereaved pet owners, according to Reuters.
