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

Kyle J. Paine and David Charns

5 mins ago

Christopher Winter, 53, is facing multiple animal cruelty charges following his arrest on Tuesday. (LVMPD/KLAS)

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

Christopher Winter, 53, faces multiple animal cruelty charges following his arrest Tuesday. 8 News Now investigators first reported Winter’s name on Tuesday.

In total, prosecutors said, police found 15 animals in the U-Haul and another vehicle, including 12 dogs – six of them dead – and three cats. They said Winter admitted when questioned by police that both vehicles were his – and that he had the keys to both on his person.

Police said Winter was living in the U-Haul’s cabin, which was parked in a parking lot at MountainView Hospital. The temperature inside the cabin was 51 degrees, police said.

Officers noticed that the dogs “appeared to have been dead for a long time,” the documents say. Winter later told police he had been walking the dogs after he was kicked out of the house.

In court on Wednesday, Judge Rebecca Saxe ordered 53-year-old Christopher Winter held on $50,000 bail, even though Winter has no prior criminal record.

“The defendant was previously admonished by North Las Vegas authorities for having too many animals, and the defendant agreed to that,” a prosecutor said in the Las Vegas Justice Courtroom. “And yet here we are.”

“The court is concerned about the extremely serious nature of the charges in this case,” Saxe said. “As the State pointed out, there were previous warnings from the police that you owned too many animals and that – in this case – you were clearly not capable of caring for those animals.”

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

A public defender arguing for Winter’s release on bail claims Winter was recently evicted from his home and has no documented residency. However, she said Winter has lived in the area for 15 years and his wife and mother also live in Las Vegas.