BOULDER CITY (KTNV) — A Las Vegas couple accused of hoarding and abusing nearly 200 animals were back in Boulder City Municipal Court Thursday morning telling a judge they "feel horrible about what happened."
79-year-old Timothy Miller and 73-year-old Carolyn Luke entered no contest to five counts of misdemeanor animal abuse charges. Judge Victor Miller sentenced the pair to six months each of those five counts. The couple was facing 46 other charges, which were dismissed.
Both Miller and Luke made statements in court, appealing to the judge.
"I take responsibility for everything that was agreed to in the agreement," Miller said. "I feel horrible that this has happened. I'm so sorry it worked out like this."
Luke claimed she loved all of the animals.
"I loved those animals so much. I was trying to rescue them," Luke said. "People would always offer me animals because they knew how much I love them. But it got overwhelming. It breaks my heart. All of them are my babies. I'm so heartbroken this has happened."
Prosecutor Thomas Moskal asked the judge to order jail time for the couple, arguing they had intent to harm.
"I've seen a number of animal abuse cases over the years, but I've never seen a case with this number of animals subjected to it," Moskal said. "I would caution this court against showing too much leniency to the defendants. I think this is a case where you want to send a message to the community out there."
However, attorney Christopher Tilman, representing Miller, told Channel 13 his client had no malicious intent.
"They've done 21 days and they won't be out for another five days," Tilman said. "I think the message has been sent. He's been remorseful since day one. He understands what happened to these animals wasn't good."
Tilman and attorney Andrew Fritz, representing Luke, asked that the couple serve no more jail time saying they've learned their lesson. Both recommended to the judge that the couple be ordered counseling sessions to overcome their hoarding problem.
The judge ordered counseling when their sentence is complete. He also ordered that the couple surrender all the animals in the Boulder City case.
The couple will be back in court on Tuesday when the judge will decide whether jail time will be concurrent or consecutive or if the couple should just stay under house arrest.
There is a possibility Miller and Luke will face additional charges in Las Vegas.
As of Thursday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told Channel 13 "this is still an open and ongoing investigation."
