51 guinea pigs found in car, elderly couple arrested in Nevada
Police in Boulder City arrested a couple in their 70s after pulling over a car that had 51 guinea pigs — 11 guinea pigs were dead — and rabbits inside it, city officials said.
“Our officers knew right away that something was wrong,” Lt. Thomas Healing of the Boulder City Police Department said in a statement.
The couple, 79-year-old Timothy Miller and 72-year-old Carolyn Luke, each face multiple animal cruelty charges.
Police had received a tip about an animal abuse/hoarding situation involving a car driving in Boulder City, according to a press release from Boulder City’s Office of the City Manager.
Officers then stopped a car over a broken taillight at about 5 p.m. Friday near Nevada Way and Juniper Way.
“When the occupants rolled down a window, officers could smell dead animals inside the car,” said the press release.
Police officers and Boulder City Animal Control officers searched the car and found the animals inside plastic totes and luggage.
They took the animals from the scene.
According to press release, four more guinea pigs have since died.
“The female suspect was concerned about other animals that they said were at their home and a hotel in Las Vegas, and immediately notified Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department,” Healing said in a statement included in the news release.
Metro police got a search warrant and found 30 dogs, with 10 already dead, inside a hotel room linked to the couple. A search at their home resulted in 15 dogs and more guinea pigs being found, the news release said.
“Veterinary treatment will likely cost thousands of dollars for these animals,” said Ann Inabnitt, supervisor of Boulder City Animal Control, in a statement included in the news release.
“We’re also finding that some of the pets are pregnant, so it may be weeks before we have an exact number of impounded animals,” Inabnitt said.
The two each face 11 misdemeanor charges of torture, injure, abandon or starve an animal and could face felony charges in connection with the animals found in Las Vegas, according to the news release.
Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com.
