Flakes sue Arpaio, county in Green Acre dog deaths

The son and daughter-in-law of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake filed suit against Maricopa County and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, accusing the sheriff and county officials of abuse of process and malicious prosecution in the Green Acre Dog Boarding case.

Austin Flake, the senator's son, and Logan Flake, a child of the kennel's owners, were initially charged with animal abuse and neglect after more than 20 dead and dying dogs were discovered in June 2014 at the Gilbert-area boarding facility, but Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery dropped the charges after the Flakes attorneys pointed out flaws in the investigation.

Although Montgomery eventually decided to re-file the charges against the owners of Green Acre Boarding, he decided not to charge the Flakes.

MONTINI:Green Acre dogs get justice if Flakes don't get a penny

The Flakes filed an $8 million notice of claim, a precursor to the lawsuit, in February.

The Flakes' attorneys allege that the charges against the Flakes were politically motivated because of Arpaio's long history of disagreements with Jeff Flake and also as part of a publicity stunt to generate campaign contributions for Arpaio.

"Defendant Arpaio has a long history of abusing his office to conduct investigation and/or press charges without probable cause, whether for spite or publicity," the suit states. "His targets have ranged from ordinary people like a mailman or police officers, to respected public officials like judges and their family."

Arpaio issued a statement late Monday morning denying the allegations contained in the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court.

"We conducted a thorough and professional examination into the facts which caused the deaths of these pets. The investigation, when completed, led to the indictments of Todd and MaLeisa Hughes as well as Austin and Logan Flake," Arpaio's statement read. "My Office stands by this investigation and the work of our professional and dedicated animal crimes unit detectives. The allegation being made by Flake's attorney that this investigation was in any way politically motivated is completely false."

Austin and Logan Flake were acting as caretakers at Green Acre Boarding, in an area near Gilbert, in June 2014. Green Acre Boarding is owned by Logan Flake's parents, MaLeisa Hughes and Jesse Todd Hughes, who are awaiting trial on fraud and animal abuse and neglect charges stemming from the dogs' deaths.

The Hugheses were on vacation in Florida and the Flakes were watching the dogs being boarded at the kennel. The Flakes have argued in previous court filings that they were following the Hugheses' instruction when they put more than 20 dogs in a sealed "dog room'' overnight.

The next morning, Austin Flake discovered that many of the dogs had died in the sweltering heat and several others were ill, according to court records. He did not call a veterinarian and instead chose to cool the dogs down by putting water on them, investigators said.

The measures undertaken by Austin Flake were unsuccessful and a couple of additional dogs subsequently died.

At first, Austin Flake told detectives that he believed the air-conditioning had failed because one of the dogs had chewed through an exposed wire. The Flakes and the Hugheses were arrested when the sheriff's investigation determined the wire had nothing to do with the incident.

The Flakes' attorneys argued in a subsequent motion that the air-conditioning unit failed because of a clogged air filter.