Arrest made in 'Noah's Ark' animal-hoarding case
PHOENIX — A retired Phoenix police officer who owned more than 100 animals, including zebras, horses and donkeys, was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty Thursday, more than a month after Maricopa County sheriff's deputies raided her Phoenix-area home.
Deputies who made the raid on Jan. 5 said living conditions for the animals were poor and they lacked adequate food and water at Andrea Mikkel's 1-acre home. They described the scene as "Noah's Ark" because there appeared to be at least two of each animal.
Mikkel was not initially charged and purposely swallowed a soda can tab to be hospitalized during questioning, sheriff's officials said.
Deputies said they took nearly 60 animals from the home of the 30-year Phoenix police veteran after neighbors complained about the noise and smell the animals created.
Mikkel, 62, retired from the Phoenix Police Department in 2007, according to a department spokesman.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Thursday that it took so long to arrest Mikkel because veterinarians had to run tests on all the animals and it took several weeks to gather all the evidence. Arpaio also said investigators hoped the delay would give Mikkel time to clean up her act, but the conditions of the animals left from the first raid worsened, and detectives might seize more of them.
Mikkel is facing 80 counts of animal cruelty, all misdemeanors that could result in a maximum sentence of one-year in jail per count, Arpaio said.
Mikkel's attorney, Marc Victor, said the decision to arrest Mikkel was an example of Arpaio "showboating" and was an action that "isn't consistent with an elected official."
Victor said he sent the Sheriff's Office a letter last month stating that Mikkel would respond to any summons to appear in court and said he spoke with a high ranking sheriff's official about Mikkel's willingness to meet with investigators.
Arpaio told reporters Thursday that the letter never reached him and his agency's job is to arrest people. He said he stands by the work of his animal cruelty unit.
"I care about victims, whether they are humans or animals, and these animals are victims," he said.