The Latest: Arpaio’s Malicious-Prosecution Trial Begins
The latest on a malicious-prosecution trial against former Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a lawsuit brought by one of Sen. Jeff Flake’s sons (all times local):
6:35 p.m.
Jurors who will decide a malicious-prosecution trial were told about the emotional distress that one of Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake’s sons suffered when former Sheriff Joe Arpaio brought an animal cruelty case against him.
The now-dismissed criminal case against Austin Flake and his then-wife is at the center of a civil trial that began Tuesday.
The couple was charged with 21 dogs at a kennel operated by the younger Flake’s in-laws died after the facility’s air conditioner failed.
The Flakes were watching the dogs while the in-laws were in Florida.
Their attorney says a judge has determined Arpaio didn’t have probable cause to charge them.
Arpaio attorney Jeffrey Leonard says the sheriff’s officers conducted a competent investigation.
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2:22 a.m.
A trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday in a lawsuit that alleges former Sheriff Joe Arpaio brought a trumped-up criminal case against Sen. Jeff Flake’s son to embarrass the senator.
Austin Flake and his then-wife Logan Brown filed the lawsuit over Arpaio’s investigation into the 2014 heat-exhaustion deaths of 21 dogs at a kennel operated by the younger Flake’s in-laws.
The Flakes were watching the dogs while the in-laws were in Florida.
The dogs died when an air conditioner failed in a room where the animals were kept.
The case against the Flakes was dismissed at the request of prosecutors after an expert determined the air conditioner failed because it wasn’t properly maintained.
Arpaio’s lawyers deny the sheriff’s office tried to connect the senator to the dog deaths.
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