Man arrested with 6 dead dogs in 125-degree U-Haul recently deported

Kyle J. Paine and David Charns

12 minutes ago

Christopher Winter, 53, faces several animal abuse charges after his arrest Tuesday. (LVMPD/KLAS)

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Police previously warned a man arrested with six dead dogs inside a U-Haul box truck that he had too many dogs in his possession, prosecutors said in court Wednesday.

Christopher Winter, 53, faces several animal abuse charges after his arrest Tuesday. 8 News Now investigators first reported Winter's name Tuesday.

In total, prosecutors said 15 officers found animals in the U-Haul and another vehicle, consisting of 12 dogs — six of them dead — and three cats. They said Winter admitted to owning both vehicles — and having the keys to them — when police questioned him.

Police said Winter lived in the cabin of the U-Haul, which was parked in the MountainView Hospital parking lot. The temperature inside the cabin was 125 degrees, police said.

Officers noted that the dogs appeared “to have been deceased for a long time,” according to documents. Winter later told police he was driving with the dogs after he was kicked out.

In court Wednesday, Judge Rebecca Saxe ordered Christopher Winter, 53, held on $50,000 bail, although Winter has no criminal record.

“The defendant had previously been warned by authorities in North Las Vegas that he owned too many animals, and the defendant agreed with that,” a prosecutor said during the first court appearance from Las Vegas. “Yet here we are.”

“The court’s concern is the extremely serious nature of the charges in this case,” Saxe said. “As the State has pointed out, the police have previously warned you that you own too many animals and that, in this case, you clearly were not capable of caring for those animals.”

Saxe pointed out that one of the animals found in the U-Haul was “covered in blood.” She ordered Winter to stay away from animals and set a hearing date for June 17 in Las Vegas court.

A public defender, arguing that Winter should be released on his own recognizance, says Winter claims he was recently deported and has no verifiable residence. She said, however, that Winter had lived in the area for 15 years and that his wife and mother also lived in Las Vegas.