Dad drinks 40 beers then steals live flamingo in Las Vagas in real-life HangoverBrigid Brown Mon, October 19, 2026 at 2:21 PM UTC
According to Fairbarn, he had been drinking all day and he thought of the heist as a gag (Image: Flamingo Hotel and Casino)Mitch Fairbarn has been on house arrest in Las Vegas, Nevada, since March 3, after befriending a flamingo and taking him back to his room.
Mitchel Fairbarn, who is married and a father of three, decided to take a break from his life in Canada and blow off some steam during a work trip to Las Vegas.
Fairbarn, 34, was in Sin City for a global construction show, and once he was off the clock, he decided to kick back and down some beers. Once he was full on beer - drinking 30 to 40 cans - he made a visit to the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat at 5:00 am local time, following a full day of drinking and gambling.
Fairbarn reportedly entered the habitat, which holds six Chilean flamingos. He sat next to one of the flamingos, who was named Bugsy, and soon after, the light bulb went off. He thought it'd be funny to snatch one of the flamingos and take him back to his room for a few minutes, according to his testimony, according to the New York Post.
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Fairbarn somehow managed to pick up Peachy, a 27-year-old flamingo, who is not only well-known but beloved. From there, Fairbarn was able to get Peachy into the elevator and take his feathered friend up to his room at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, in a scene reminiscent of the Hangover movies about a group of friends' wild, drunken antics in Vegas.
According to Fairbarn, he birdnapped Peachy in good fun, saying his plan was to have a good story that would go on for ages, but his prank backfired on him when he was spotted on security footage abducting the tropical bird.
After consuming 30 to 40 beers Fairbarn entered the Flamingo Habitat at the base of his hotel (Image: Flamingo Hotel and Casino)
After hanging out with Peachy for a few minutes in his room, it appears Fairbarn came to his senses. He put Peachy in the hallway so he could change his clothes and then return him to the habitat.
At that point, hotel security had caught onto his prank, and Fairbarn was met in the hallway by local authorities and taken into custody.
This all went down during the early morning hours on March 3, in which Fairbarn was arrested. He has been on house arrest in Las Vegas for months, forced to surrender his passport, banned from leaving the U.S. or stepping on the Las Vegas strip.
Fairbarn originally faced four felony counts of animal abuse. Ahead of jury deliberations, the state focused the trial down to two felony counts of cruelty to animals specifically related to the injuries sustained by Peachy.
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The trial officially began on Monday, October 13, at Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas, in which Fairbarn took the stand.
"I thought it was something that we could joke about for the rest of our lives," Fairbarn said.
"Did you ever, at any time, have any malicious intent or desire?" his attorney asked, per the outlet. "Did you intend to kill?"
"No," Fairbarn responded.
In addition to Fairbarn, veterinarian Dr. Tiffany Moore testified in Peachy's defense, saying Peachy had seven to eight missing feathers, broken shafts, and blood loss consistent with trauma.
Fairbarn doesn't know what happened to Peachy's feathers but he took full responsibility, saying the surveillance video "doesn't look good."
Fairbarn is currently trial with closing arguments expected to take place today (Image: FOX 5)
Closing arguments will take place today, Monday, October 19, followed by jury deliberation.
If found guilty, Fairbarn faces a maximum penalty of 1 to 4 years in a Nevada state prison and a fine of up to $5,000 for each count.
Under Nevada state law, willfully and maliciously torturing or maiming an animal kept for companionship or pleasure is classified as a Category D felony.
Because the state focused the final trial down to two felony counts of animal cruelty specifically related to Peachy's injuries, his maximum combined exposure if convicted on both counts would be up to 8 years in prison.
Source: Crime