View this article online: https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/west/2014/02/18/244686.htm
A Las Vegas pet shop owner has been indicted on felony and misdemeanor charges accusing her of setting fire to her storefront business where 27 puppies were rescued last month.
The indictment handed up Friday contains the same 31 charges against Gloria Eun Hye Lee – arson, conspiracy, burglary and 27 counts of attempted animal cruelty – that Lee faced in Las Vegas Justice Court, but moves the case to state court for trial. She could face decades in prison if she is convicted.
Lee, 35, is being held at the Clark County jail on $310,000 bail. She is due for arraignment Feb. 24 in Clark County District Court.
Her attorney, Ozzie Fumo, called the indictment expected and said Lee will plead not guilty.
A co-defendant, Kirk Bills, is jailed in Crown Point, Ind., on a Justice Court fugitive warrant pending his transfer in custody to Las Vegas. Bills, 27, also could be indicted once he is in Nevada.
Prosecutor Shanon Clowers said she doesn’t know if Bills has a lawyer in the case.
Clowers has said profit appeared to be the motive for the Jan. 27 fire that damaged Lee’s Prince and Princess pet store and an adjacent business in a strip mall southwest of the Las Vegas Strip.
Sprinklers quelled flames until Clark County firefighters arrived and rescued the puppies from their cages. The dogs since have been kept at a local animal shelter.
Court documents say Bills is seen on store video pouring liquid from gasoline cans and igniting it while Lee collects files and leaves the store.