PHOTOS: Seven tigers seized from Pahrump property

Pahrump resident and big cat enthusiast Karl Mitchell spoke to the Pahrump Valley Times about his arrest on Wednesday morning, April 2.

Mitchell was taken into custody just after 7 a.m. following a longtime, unsettled dispute with Nye County Code Enforcement officials over custody of what he considers seven emotional support tigers at the property he’s been renting for more than two decades on Woodchips Road, in Pahrump.

He was released on Wednesday evening.

The years-long issue pertains to Mitchell’s alleged violation of a Nye County Conditional Use Permit, which is mandatory to house the big cats on the vast property once owned by Ray “the Flagman” Mielzynski, who died in 2023.

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office assisted Code Enforcement officials and additional agencies in the removal of the tigers from the property, according to Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill.

“Mr. Mitchell has been in the Pahrump Valley for several years and has knowingly had these large cats,” McGill told the Pahrump Valley Times. “Over about the last two years, he has been in violation due to not possessing a permit for having the cats within the county. Code Enforcement and Animal Services asked us for our assistance in preparing and serving a search warrant, and we participated with them for the safety of the community and the animals. This started as a result of an eviction.”

Mitchell, who is a decorated Vietnam War combat veteran told the Pahrump Valley Times that due to his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) condition, he relies on the tigers for emotional support when suffering from flashbacks.

“I’m 100 percent disabled and my doctor at the Veterans Administration, (VA) provides a prescription for my tigers for my psychological well-being,” he said. “It’s still in effect and it takes precedence over any kind of code enforcement and zoning statutes. They should never be trying to require me to get a conditional use permit, and continuing to do that is where they are in the wrong.”

During Wednesday morning’s seizure of the tigers, Mitchell described his version of how the entire confiscation process went.

“They came in and forbade me from watching them,” he said. “One cop grabs me and slams me down, on my face, and busted my head open and I was bleeding, but I’m doing the best that I can considering what I went through and the health issues that I have. They said that I resisted but that’s not true because I absolutely did not resist. Right now I’m trying to be optimistic and I have a really, really wonderful woman that’s been around helping me and doing her best to help me get better, so I’ve got reasons to not just go totally … crazy. Though I anticipated that it would eventually happen, this whole thing came as a surprise. I rented this place for my tigers from the Flagman for more than 10 years.”

Though Sheriff McGill did not disclose exactly where the tigers will be transported and housed, he did say that all are being treated humanely following their capture, where tranquilizer darts were used to sedate the animals.

“The operation went as smoothly as can be hoped for,” he said. “When I left the scene, they were in the process of tranquilizing the animals and getting them loaded into transport cages and vehicles. We were able to come into contact with a large out-of-state animal sanctuary, who responded. They actually drove for two days to get here and they are professionals at handling these types of animals.”

One Pahrump resident who is familiar with exotic animals is Heidi Fleiss, who operates a bird sanctuary on her Pahrump property.

Fleiss, who has known Mitchell for many years, told the Pahrump Valley Times she was willing to pay Mitchell’s bail.

“I don’t see why they would take him into custody,” she said. “It’s not like he’s a violent criminal or anything like that. The whole thing is bizarre. He is a decorated veteran who served in Vietnam. He fought for this country, so putting someone like Karl in custody, I don’t like that because I think it’s nice that he cares about the tigers.”

Mitchell was charged with allegedly resisting a public officer and possession of a gun by a prohibited person, according to the sheriff’s office.

Efforts to obtain comments from Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi and Nye County Code Enforcement officials by deadline were unsuccessful on Thursday.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com.