Las Vegas Puppy Shop Arson Suspect Arrested In Indiana
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A man accused in Las Vegas of helping a pet shop owner in the city torch her store with 27 puppies inside is expected to face transport in custody from Indiana to Nevada to face multiple felony charges.
Kirk Bills, 27, of Henderson, was arrested Friday in Crown Point, Ind., said FBI agent Joan Hyde in Chicago.
Bills had been sought on a felony arrest warrant by authorities in Las Vegas after prosecutors identified him as a man seen on security video allegedly pouring a liquid from gasoline cans and setting it afire early Jan. 27 at the Prince and Princess pet store.
Firefighters rescued the puppies alive and credited fire sprinklers with dousing flames. The dogs are being cared for at a local animal shelter, where photos of their fuzzy faces behind the bars of kennel doors have drawn worldwide attention.
Bills is named with store owner Gloria Eun Hye Lee in a 31-count criminal complaint accusing them of arson, conspiracy, burglary and attempted animal cruelty.
Lee, 35, is a U.S. citizen originally from South Korea and a convicted felon from California. She remained jailed Saturday in Las Vegas after a judge on Friday raised her bail from $40,000 to $310,000 and ordered her into custody from house arrest.
The judge set a Tuesday hearing after Lee's attorney raised questions about prosecutors' accounts of Lee's criminal history.
The prosecutor in the case, Shanon Clowers, said Lee was convicted in 1999 of forgery and in 2001 of larceny from a bank and escape.
Lee's lawyers, Tom Pitaro and Ozzie Fumo, said she'll fight the charges against her.
The video hasn't been made public. It was turned over to federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents for review, Clowers said.
It wasn't immediately clear Saturday if Bills had an attorney.
Court records in Las Vegas show that Bills faced a misdemeanor drug-paraphernalia case last June, but prosecutors dropped the charge and the case was closed.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
