A pair of suspects who were expected to turn themselves in on charges that they were responsible for the deaths of nine dogs who perished inside of an extremely hot box truck in July 2023 have not done so, and arrest warrants have been issued in the case.
According to Indiana State Police, 55-year-old Michael McHenry and 44-year-old Jessee Urbaszewski were both supposed to turn themselves in to police on Tuesday after being charged in the case, but neither had done so as of 6 p.m.
Both men were charged with 18 counts of neglect of a vertebrate animal, a misdemeanor in Indiana. Warrants have been issued for their arrest in connection with the case.
According to authorities, the dogs died of heat stroke after an air conditioning unit malfunctioned while they were being taken to a training facility in Michigan.
The 18 dogs were being transported from O’Hare International Airport to a K-9 training facility, according to the Humane Society of Hobart.
Police said the temperature began rising after the AC unit stopped working, with the vehicle stuck in traffic for hours.
The dogs began barking, prompting the driver to pull over and to begin removing dogs that had been placed in crates.
Authorities allege that the driver of the vehicle used a cooling device not designed to replace air conditioning units and that the units used were insufficient for the task.