AZ-Bill Montgomery Maricopa County Attorney Drops Charges Against Green Acre Dog Owners of 20 Dog Deaths-Video

The owners of a Gilbert-area kennel where more than a dozen dogs dies last June pleaded not guilty to animal-cruelty allegations during a routine court appearance in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday morning.
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Anthony A Marroquin,8:59 a.m. MST June 3, 2015
Hughes and MaLesia Hughes, the owners of Green Acre Dog Boarding, faced similar charges last year after 21 dogs were found dead from an apparent heat-related incident at their facility, but the animal-cruelty charges were dropped in December, leaving the couple to face fraud allegations. The Hughes were reindicted in May when prosecutors presented new evidence to a grand jury that suggested the kennel's air-conditioning unit had stopped working because of a dirty air filter.
The incident came to light on June 20,1014 when the Hugheses were on vacation and their daughter and son-in-law, Logan and Austin Flake, were left in charge of the facility. Austin Flake is the son of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, and he and his wife discovered the dead and dying animals in a room at the Gilbert-area business.
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GREEN ACRE DOG KENNEL DEATHS

After more than 20 dogs died at the Green Acre kennel in Gilbert, distressed victims demanded answers, exposing lies told by the facility's owners. This is how the series of events unfolded.