LAS VEGAS — A visitor from Canada maliciously harmed a flamingo at an iconic Las Vegas hotel when he removed the bird named Peachy from its enclosure and took it to his room earlier this year in a drunken prank, prosecutors said Monday at the man's trial.
His attorney said Mitchell Fairbarn of Ontario meant no harm and regrets taking the bird.
Fairbarn is charged with two counts of animal cruelty in Nevada district court. Authorities allege that on March 3, he entered the flamingo habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and snatched the bird.
Video played at the trial showed Fairbarn holding the flamingo in an elevator and carrying it down a hotel hallway. The Flamingo is one of the oldest hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. The four-acre (1.6-hectare) flamingo habitat features Chilean flamingos, hummingbirds, turtles, koi and other wildlife.
Fairbarn faces up to five years in prison on each count if convicted of felony animal cruelty. If jurors should find him guilty on the lesser charge of misdemeanor animal cruelty, he faces up to six months in jail on each count.
Prosecutors said Fairbarn willfully caused the bird physical pain, noting feathers were found on the hotel floor. Video showed the bird squawking while Fairbarn handled it and prosecutors said Peachy felt pain when it was pulled by its feet.
Las Vegas police responded to the scene after security staff reported someone had stolen the flamingo. When Peachy was located, it was missing seven to eight feathers, had blood on its feathers and injuries to its wings, authorities said.
Taking the bird was “dumb” and “fueled by drunkenness,” defense attorney Josh Tomsheck said. But Tomsheck added that his client never meant to harm the bird, a key element in the felony charge.
“He should not have done that, should not have gone into the habitat, shouldn’t have touched a bird, shouldn’t have taken Peachy inside,” Tomsheck said. “The truth is, Mitch was drunk. Mitch was stupid. He made bad decisions."
Fairbarn received death threats after taking the flamingo, and his father died while Fairbarn was unable to leave the U.S. while awaiting trial, said Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming. While those events were unfortunate, the prosecutor said, “none of that would have happened had he not done what he did, had he not made the choices he made."
Jurors were expected to begin deliberations after both sides presented closing arguments Monday morning.
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