Thursday, July 21, 2022 | 5:17 p.m.
Raul Carabajal
A California man was arrested Wednesday after security at a Las Vegas Strip resort discovered a 3-month-old puppy sitting in his unattended car as temperatures approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a Metro Police arrest report.
Raul Carbajal, 50, was arrested and booked at the Clark County Detention Center on an animal cruelty count after he was met by officers rescuing the husky puppy, which was found with tape around its snout, from his 2001 Mercedes that was parked on the top floor of the Bellagio parking garage, police said.
Carbajal arrived at the Bellagio at 1:13 p.m. and didn’t return to his vehicle, which was sitting in direct sunlight, until about 3:15 p.m. — when it was approximately 107 degrees outside — according to the arrest report. Once the dog was rescued, hotel security cut the tape off and brought it water and into air conditioning but did not mention its condition.
Hotel security was alerted about the dog and responded to the top floor, where the puppy was breathing heavily and salivating when found, according to the arrest report. The security officer noticed that the car’s sunroof was open, and climbed through the sunroof to get the pup out, police said. Animal control came to the scene to take custody of the dog, they said. The puppy's condition was not available Wednesday.
Carbajal appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court today, where bail was set at $5,000 cash, according to the court schedule. He’s scheduled to appear again Tuesday.
An attorney representing Carbajal was not listed on the online case summary, but a public defender was appointed to his behalf at his initial hearing.
