Son of Sen. Jeff Flake charged with dogs' deaths

PHOENIX, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A son of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, his wife and in-laws face criminal charges involving the death of more than 20 dogs in a Phoenix-area boarding kennel.

The dogs suffocated in June at Green Acre Dog Boarding in Gilbert, Ariz. Austin Flake and his wife, Logan, were caring for the animals while her parents, Todd and MaLeisa Hughes, were away.

All four were charged in an indictment with more than 20 felony counts and several misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

"Today's indictment is the result of a thorough review of the extensive investigation into this incident and a decision to seek charges based on objective facts," Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said in a statement. "We now look forward to the next step in seeing that justice is served in this case."

Jeff Flake, a conservative Republican, was elected to the Senate in 2012 after 12 years in the House. Austin is one of his five children.

Investigators said the dogs were being kept in an 8-by-12-foot room where they became ill with heat exhaustion. The Hughes said that one of the dogs chewed through a cable, disabling the air conditioning, but investigators said they found no evidence of that.

The four are scheduled to appear in court Oct. 28.