Jury deliberates flamingo abuse case

Closing arguments in the case of Mitchell Fairbarn, 33, of Ontario, wrapped up shortly before 11:30 a.m., and a Clark County jury has begun deliberations. Fairbarn faces two felony charges of cruelty to animals after authorities say he took a flamingo named Peachy from the Flamingo resort’s habitat on March 3 and brought the bird to his hotel room where it was allegedly tortured.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Haley Willming told jurors that Fairbarn admitted he had no good reason to be in the flamingo enclosure or to grab Peachy, and that the bird suffered pain and injuries after being picked up. “Peachy was the subject of him and his friends’ amusement,” Willming said. “Peachy was the subject of his big joke.”

Fairbarn’s attorney Joshua Tomsheck argued the incident was the result of drunken foolishness, not malice. “If he was an evil guy and that was his design and his plan and if he wanted to kill Peachy, Peachy would be dead,” Tomsheck said. “What we’re saying is that it was dumb. It was fueled by durnkenness.” He also emphasized that Peachy is a “corporate asset” of the Flamingo or its parent company Caesars Entertainment, not a pet, and noted that investigators never tested the alleged blood splatters or Fairbarn’s intoxication.

Tomsheck reminded jurors that if the state has not proven the felony elements, they must return a verdict on the misdemeanor charges. “When you go back and deliberate, consider the rest of the story,” he said.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal