Arrest warrants issued in Lake County dog ​​death, officials say – NBC Chicago

Two suspects who were due to face charges of being responsible for the deaths of nine dogs who died in an extremely hot van in July 2023 have failed to do so. Arrest warrants have been issued in the case.

According to Indiana State Police, 55-year-old Michael McHenry and 44-year-old Jessee Urbaszewski were both supposed to turn themselves in to police Tuesday after being charged in the case, but neither had done so as of 6 p.m.

Both men were charged with 18 counts of neglect of a vertebrate animal, a misdemeanor in Indiana, and warrants were issued for their arrests in connection with the case.

Authorities said the dogs died of heat stroke after an air conditioning malfunctioned on the way to a training facility in Michigan.

According to the Humane Society of Hobart, the 18 dogs were transported from O’Hare International Airport to a dog training facility.

According to police, the temperature began to rise after the air conditioning stopped working and the vehicle was stuck in traffic for hours.

The dogs started barking, so the driver stopped and started taking out the dogs that were in the cages.

Authorities allege that the driver of the vehicle was using a cooling device that was not designed to replace air conditioning and that the equipment used was inadequate for the task.