The Associated Press
FLAT ROCK, Ind. (AP) - Police searching for a suspected meth lab on a farm in southern Shelby County found more than they expected - a private zoo including tigers, wolves, leopards and bears.
“This is something I definitely have never dealt with in my career. Few officers have,” Indiana State Police Detective Todd McComas said Tuesday.
Dennis L. Hill, 47, of Flat Rock, was being held in the Shelby County Jail Wednesday on drug and other charges. He could face up to 76 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
State, federal, county and Indianapolis authorities discovered cages containing several exotic animals Saturday when they raided Hill’s rural Flat Rock home about 38 miles southeast of Indianapolis.
The menagerie included several tigers, about three black bears, five wolves, leopards, cougars, a jaguar and several monkeys, police said.
Hill had a federal permit to keep the animals, but authorities were investigating whether any local laws had been broken.
County and U.S. Department of Agriculture investigators were monitoring the animals’ well-being. The animals remained on Hill’s property Tuesday.
Police also confiscated several handguns and rifles and a backhoe and tractor that had been reported stolen.