October 19, 2026 - 12:13 pm

A Clark County jury has begun deliberating in the trial of a Canadian man accused of stealing a flamingo and injuring it during a stay at a Las Vegas Strip resort.

Closing arguments wrapped up shortly before 11:30 a.m. Mitchell Fairbarn, 33, of Ontario, faces two felony charges of cruelty to animals.

Authorities alleged Fairbarn stole a flamingo named Peachy from the Flamingo resort’s habitat early March 3, took it back to his hotel room and tortured it.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Haley Willming said Fairbarn admitted during the trial he has no good reason or excuse to be in the flamingo enclosure or to grab Peachy, and that Peachy, according to expert testimony, suffered pain and injuries after being picked up by Fairbarn.

“Peachy was the subject of him and his friends’ amusement,” Willming said of Fairbarn. “Peachy was the subject of his big joke.”

Farbarn’s attorney, Joshua Tomsheck, told jurors that Fairbarn was drunk when the incident occurred, but that his client did not act with malice and did not intend to torture, maim or mutilate Peachy.

“If he was an evil guy and that was his design and his plan and if he wanted to kill Peachy, Peachy would be dead,” Tomsheck said of Fairbarn. “What we’re saying is that it was dumb. It was fueled by durnkenness.”

Tomsheck also argued that Peachy, a “corporate asset” of either the Flamingo or its parent company, Caesars Entertainment, and that the bird was not an animal kept for companionship or pleasure. He said Metropolitan Police Department investigators never tested apparent blood splatters prosecutors said belonged to Peachy or whether Fairbarn was drunk.

“You have to do this job because the police didn’t,” Tomsheck said. Tomsheck reminded jurors that if they determine the state has not proven the elements of a felony charge, they must return a verdict on the misdemeanor charges.

“When you go back and deliberate, consider the rest of the story,” Tomsheck said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.