Drunken Prank in Vegas Ends in Felony Convictions Over Stolen Flamingo

Drunken Prank in Vegas Ends in Felony Convictions Over Stolen Flamingo

Canadian tourist carried squawking Peachy to his room

A Canadian visitor who grabbed a flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and carried the squawking bird to his hotel room was convicted of animal cruelty on Monday afternoon. The jury in a Nevada court found Mitchell Fairbarn, a 34-year-old married father of three from central Ontario, guilty of one felony and one misdemeanor count after about five hours of deliberations. He remains under house arrest ahead of a sentencing hearing set for Dec. 1.

Prosecutors say bird was pulled, squeezed and left bleeding

Prosecutors said Fairbarn hurt and frightened Peachy, a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo, during the episode at about 5 a.m. on March 3. Court documents and trial testimony said he entered the outdoor habitat, picked the bird up by its legs, dragged it, squeezed it in his arms and grabbed it by the neck. Feathers were found on the hotel floor. Video played at trial showed him holding the flamingo in an elevator and carrying it down a hallway. When recovered, Peachy was missing seven to eight feathers, had blood on its plumage and injuries to its wings.

Veterinarian reports a physically OK but newly anxious bird

Peachy's veterinarian, Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, told jurors the bird has been doing all right physically since the incident but is more anxious and nervous when being evaluated. She said the bird has a history of arthritis and bumblefoot, an inflammation of the feet. Prosecutors argued the testimony and the missing feathers showed Fairbarn willfully caused physical pain, a key element of the felony charge.

Defendant blames 30 to 40 beers and a bid for laughs

Taking the stand in his own defense, Fairbarn said he spent March 2 gambling and drinking an estimated 30 to 40 beers, then stopped at the habitat drunk, sleep-deprived and on a phone call. He said he entered to look at a bird with uneven wings even though he knew he should not go in, sat with one flamingo, then grabbed Peachy as a silly pranky joke to photograph because it would be funny. He said the bird spent two to three minutes in his room before he put it in the hallway, about 15 minutes in total, and he was changing clothes to return it when arrested. Defense attorney Josh Tomsheck called the act dumb and fueled by drunkenness but said his client never intended harm.

Four years in prison at stake at December sentencing

Fairbarn faces up to four years in state prison for the felony conviction and possibly six more months in county jail for the misdemeanor. Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming said Fairbarn had received death threats after taking the flamingo and was unable to leave the United States when his father died while he awaited trial. None of that would have happened had he not done what he did, she told jurors. Security staff who reported the theft and Las Vegas police who responded brought the case to court, and the verdict leaves the hotel, tourists and animal-welfare advocates watching what sentence follows a prank that injured a beloved 27-year-old bird.