 Dog-fighting - 64 dogs seized in two counties
Moraine, OH (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 24, 2007
County: Montgomery
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Charges: Felony CTA
Alleged:
» Larontay Gerald Bennett - Convicted
» Jerry Lee Pounds
» Jon Eric Pollard
» Paul D. Pennington
» Terry Kendrick
» Cornelius Burnett
» Taquisha R. Kendrick - Convicted
» Douglas MacArthur Blackwell
» Evelyn Kay Lillard - Convicted
» Maurice Ferguson - Convicted
» Marlon Anthony Rogers
» Shawn L. Coleman
» Paul James Abrams - Convicted
» Antonio T. Winslow - Convicted
» Kevin L. Dunlap - Convicted
» Barrett Eugene Lynch - Convicted
» LaCarlos M. Sally - Convicted
» Antonio Sally - Convicted
» Alfred Love - Convicted
» Demetrius Thompson - Convicted
» Shawn D. Matthews
» Ira D. Suber - Convicted
» Terry Lynn Butler - Convicted
» Joey Dennis - Convicted
» Ernest Harris
» Breonna Reliford-Suber
» Demetrious L. Ruff
» Olden Thomas Watson
» Stephanie J. Cochran
» Frank Curtis Gilbert - Dismissed (Conditional)
» Darryl Eugene Jones
» Marlin Terrell Mitchell
» Thomas Brian Watson
» Barry J. Parrish
» Robert Steve Tootle - Convicted
» Kevin McKee - Convicted
» Christopher P. Bradner
» Bennie Gartrell
» Christopher L. Nunley - Convicted
» Matthew D. Simmons - Convicted
» Charles A. Duck
» Tracey L. Dunlap
» Rashawn Gill - Convicted
» Vaudine Gordon - Dismissed (Conditional)
» Melanie J. Jones
» Lewis Verdial
» Gary Moorefield
» Jessie L. O'Neal - Convicted
» Charles A. Roberson
» Johnnell S. Smith
» Bruce C. Williams
Upcoming Court Dates:
» Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007: Bennett's sentencing
» Tuesday, Oct 30, 2007: plea hearing: Kendrick and Blackwell
» Monday, Nov 5, 2007: plea hearing
» Monday, Nov 19, 2007: Matthews' trial
Case Updates: 12 update(s) available |
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| | Case ID: 11090 | | | Classification: Fighting | | | Animal: dog (pit-bull) | | | View more cases in OH (US) | | | Child or elder neglect | | | Drugs or alcohol involved |
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A year-long investigation by 22 law enforcement agencies culminated March 24 with simultaneous raids on seven kennels and a warehouse where dogfights were about to be staged.
The Humane Society of the United States, along with a combined federal, state and local law enforcement team, raided kennels in Dayton, Trotwood and Cincinnati suspected of breeding and selling fighting dogs.
Sixty-four dogs were seized in the raids and two dozen suspects were arrested. Drugs, guns and money also were seized.
The dogs will be euthanized because they were bred to fight, even if they appear friendly, said John Goodwin, deputy manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society.
"It's heartbreaking. You have a female pit bull and she's wagging her tail and licking your hand, but she's missing part of her lower jaw because it's been torn off in a fight," Goodwin said. "This is a brutal and very cruel activity."
The seized animals were moved to temporary housing by Humane Society officials.
"Dog fighting is a barbaric and despicable act, and this organized network of animal fighters in southern Ohio was dealt a severe blow by this raid," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society.
Federal and state charges are expected to be announced Tuesday, said Fred Alverson, spokesman for the United States Attorney's Office in Columbus. Dog fighting is felony in Ohio, but the federal law for interstate dog fighting activities is only a misdemeanor � a law that Congress could strengthen as soon as this week.
The raids were led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Attorney General's office. Case UpdatesOn Thursday three people who pleaded guilty to charges in a local dog fighting ring were sentenced.
Evelyn Lillard, Antonio Wilson and Demetrius Thompson were among 19 people arrested after a federal investigation earlier this year.
A judge sentenced all three to serve two years probation and perform 200 hours of community service.
They also have to pay restitution and court costs. | Source: WCPO - Oct 4, 2007
Update posted on Oct 5, 2007 - 2:10AM |
Marlon Rogers has been arrested and is now in custody on his outstanding warrants, as well as new dog-fighting charges in Michigan.
On August 30, Rogers was arrested during a call for a dog fight in progress in Inkster, Michigan. While being booked on the new charges, it was discovered that Rogers had outstanding Ohio warrants for alleged dog-fighting in both Montgomery and Hamilton Counties. | Source: Montgomery and Hamilton County Court Clerk
Update posted on Sep 5, 2007 - 4:06PM |
Four people accused of attending dogfights last year in the West End and Walnut Hills were convicted Monday, prosecutors said.
Evelyn Lillard, 37, of Dayton, Ohio; Maurice Ferguson, 35, of Forest Park; Antonio Winslow, 35, of Dayton, Ohio; and Demetrius Thompson, 31, of Walnut Hills, pleaded guilty in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to charges of attempted dogfighting, said Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Gus Leon.
A fifth man in court Monday, Shawn Coleman, 39, of Centerville, Ohio, postponed his case, records show.
Those convicted face up to a year in prison when they're sentenced October 4, but are likely to get probation and community service, the same sentences as seven co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty. | Source: NKY.com - Aug 28, 2007
Update posted on Aug 29, 2007 - 4:37PM |
Several defendants facing dog-fighting charges in Montgomery County as a result of the March 24 raid in two counties have made plea agreements.
According to court records:
On August 2, 2007 Terry Lynn Butler pled guilty to being a witness to a dog fight. Joey Dennis has entered a guilty plea to the same charge.
In July, both Vaudine Gordon and Frank Gilbert received "treatment in lieu of conviction" deals.
Robert Tootle, Kevin McKee and Christopher Nunley have all pled to felony dog-fighting charges. Sentencing information is pending.
Kevin Dunlap is scheduled to go on trial for felony dog-fighting charges August 27, 2007.
Jessie O'Neal and Rashawn Gill both pled to charges of "attempted" dog-fighting. Gill will serve "up to" a year in jail, 5 years probation, and a $2,500 fine, according to the terms of his plea agreement. O'Neal is scheduled to be sentenced on September 4, 2007.
Also appearing in court on September 4 are Paul Pennington and Bennie Gartrell. Gartrell is scheduled for a pre-trial conference, and Pennington is set for trial on that date. | Source: Montgomery County Court
Update posted on Aug 20, 2007 - 7:04PM |
The cases against alleged dog-fighters facing charges in two counties after simultaneous raids were conducted on March 24, 2007, are working their way through the courts.
Larontay Bennett pled guilty to one felony count of dog-fighting on July 16, 2007, according to court recrods. Several other counts were dismissed as part of his plea agreement. Bennett is scheduled to be sentenced on October 17 at 9:00 a.m. in Hamilton County Court.
Taquisha Kendrick also pled guilty to one felony count of dog-fighting as part of a plea bargain. She will be sentenced on September 17.
Winslow, Thompson, Coleman, and Ferguson are all scheduled for jury trial August 27 at 9:00 a.m. at the Hamilton County Courthouse.
Shawn Matthews' trial is currently set for September 6, 2007 at 9:00 a.m.
Also in Hamilton County, Terry Kendrick and Douglas Blackwell are set for a plea hearing on October 30.
Previously, Paul James Abrams, Kevin L. Dunlap, Barrett Eugene Lynch, LaCarlos M. Sally, Antonio Sally, Alfred Love, and Ira D. Suber each pled guilty to one felony count of dog-fighting. | Source: Hamilton County Court
Update posted on Aug 20, 2007 - 5:02PM |
| According to court records, Evelyn Kay Lillard pled guilty to felony dog-fighting charges on July 5, 2007 in Montgomery County. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. | Source: Case # 2007 CR 01654
Update posted on Aug 20, 2007 - 4:14PM |
Seven of more than twenty defendants accused of dog-fighting entered guilty pleas on Friday in Cincinnati.
According to court records, Paul James Abrams, Kevin L. Dunlap, Barrett Eugene Lynch, LaCarlos M. Sally, Antonio Sally, Alfred Love, and Ira D. Suber each pled guilty to one felony count of dog-fighting.
Each initially faced 8 counts of dog-fighting; however the remaining counts were dismissed as part of plea agreements.
All seven defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on June 14, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in the Hamilton County Courthouse.
Arrest warrants remain active on Cornelius Burnett and Marlon Rogers. | Source: Hamilton County Clerk of Courts
Update posted on May 5, 2007 - 1:37AM |
Felony dog-fighting charges have been filed in Hamilton County against at three of the alleged dog-fighters busted in simultaneous raids on seven kennels and a warehouse on March 24.
The Humane Society of the United States, along with a combined federal, state and local law enforcement team, raided kennels in Dayton, Trotwood and Cincinnati suspected of breeding and selling fighting dogs.
Larontay Bennett and Terry Kendrick are scheduled for trial on August 6, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in the Hamilton County Courthouse. There is currently an outstanding warrant for Cornelius Burnett. All three are charged with multiple counts of dog-fighting, and Kendrick also faces a string of drug charges. Further charges are expected to be filed in Hamilton and Montgomery counties, as well as possible federal charges as a result of the raid. | Source: Hamilton County Docket #'s B 0702268-A, B, and C
Update posted on May 3, 2007 - 5:32PM |
When federal agents raided a College Hill home this past weekend, they allegedly found much more than just dogs trained to fight each other to the death.
They also discovered several young children in conditions described to 9News as "deplorable".
It allegedly happened at a house in the 5900 block of Lantana Avenue.
The county says if the kids weren't in jeopardy by the dogs, they definitely were by the unsanitary conditions the dogs and their owners created.
But one occupant at the home in question tells 9News all of this is one giant lie.
It's known as an alleged kennel for a local dog-fighting ring, but that might not have been the only disturbing thing going on inside the home in recent weeks.
"The children were dirty. They smelled like dog urine, dog feces," says Brian Gregg, spokesperson for the Hamilton County's Job and Family Services Department.
Gregg confirms to 9News that after last weekend's raid on the property, five young children were taken out of the home due to unsanitary conditions.
That's a claim disputed by a woman who lives there, who identifies herself as the grandmother to some of the children taken.
She refused to give her name.
"The county is telling us they were cleaning up urine from the house and dog feces from all over the house," 9News reporter Lance Barry told the woman.
"That was a big lie, [the county is telling] a big lie," she responded.
"Two of the kids, a four-year-old and a six-year-old, had just cleaned the floor of dog urine when we entered the house," Gregg said.
"Do you think the county is lying?" asked Barry.
"I know they are lying," said the woman. "I live here."
Gregg also says the dogs, trained to kill, posed a threat even if the conditions inside didn't already.
"The situation obviously was a lot of dogs in the house and perhaps could kill each other. That was a dangerous situation," Gregg said.
The five children come from three families that live at the home.
The county says they are currently staying with relatives.
"I'm hoping to have them home real soon, cause they are hurting over this," the woman told 9News.
Nineteen people from the Tri-state were indicted Monday on charges relating to the alleged dog-fighting rings.
They include several people from the home in question.
When 9News asked the woman what grounds she had to claim that the county was making up stories about the inside of the home, she said that will come out in court. | Source: WCPO - March 29, 2007
Update posted on Mar 29, 2007 - 3:07PM |
A Montgomery County judge has ruled that the majority of the dogs confiscated by federal agents Saturday will be put to sleep.
Officers took 61 pitbulls and three rottweilers from their owners in Dayton, Trotwood, Brookville and Cincinnati after a yearlong investigation into an alleged dog fighting ring.
More than 20 people were arrested in connection with the case; nine are facing federal charges.
The judge did not specify a date for the dogs to be euthanized. A court official told Newscenter 7 that the three rottweilers may have an opportunity to be rehabilitated. | Source: WHIO-TV - March 29, 2007
Update posted on Mar 29, 2007 - 2:41PM |
Officials said today that a dog-fighting ring bust on Saturday was the largest federal government has ever undertaken. The bust involved at least three locations in the Cincinnati area.
A federal grand jury indicted nine people on a total of 46 charges for their roles in the operation of the multi-state dog fighting ring. The nine people included a college hill man and northern Kentucky man, Douglas Blackwell.
Ohio and federal officials met with reporters at 3:45 p.m. to discuss �Operation Bite Back,� a yearlong investigation by 22 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
The investigation, conducted with cooperation of the Humane Society of the United States, spanned several states and resulted in federal charges against six people, including Terry Kendrick, also known as �O.G.,� 46, of College Hill.
Kendrick was arrested in the Dayton, Ohio, suburb of Moraine. He is charged with conspiracy to sponsor and promote an animal fighting venture and illegal gambling business.
He was among more than two dozen people arrested late Saturday, when agents and officers raided kennels suspected of breeding and selling fighting dogs in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas, the Humane Society said in a news release.
�Agents descended on a warehouse in an industrial section of Dayton as a dogfight was about to begin,� the Humane Society said, calling the operation �reportedly the largest of its kind in Ohio.�
Authorities also seized more than 60 dogs. The Humane Society moved the animals to temporary housing.
�Dogfighting is a barbaric and despicable act, and this organized network of animal fighters in southern Ohio was dealt a severe blow by this raid,� said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the national Humane Society.
Experts from Oregon, Florida and Maryland came to help with the bust.
Dogfighting is banned in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia; it�s a felony in 48 states including Ohio. But the federal law for interstate dogfighting is only a misdemeanor � which Congress is in the process of changing.
On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would make it a felony to transport animals across state lines for fighting. A Senate version of the bill is expected to come to a vote soon, possibly this week. | Source: The Enquirer - March 27, 2007
Update posted on Mar 27, 2007 - 5:29PM |
A Hamilton County grand jury indicted 19 people Monday on charges related to dogfighting after a weekend raid of seven kennels and a warehouse where authorities say the fights were staged.
Authorities said Terry Kendrick, 46, of College Hill, was the ringleader; he faces 18 charges, including promoting dogfighting, witnessing dogfighting and trafficking in marijuana. If convicted, he faces up to 26 years in prison.
Five others were charged with promoting dogfighting. The others were charged with witnessing dogfighting or admitting to being present at dogfighting.
Warrants were issued for all 19 people.
Kendrick�s illegal involvement with dogs dates at least to 1999. That year Hamilton County court records show he was charged with harboring pit bulls and given probation.
At Kendrick�s home, five children were found living in squalor, said Brian Gregg, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services.
The five young kids, the children of three families living in the home, were removed by the children�s agency and placed with relatives.
Two children, ages 4 and 6, had just scrubbed the basement floor, cleaning up dog urine, Gregg said.
�We�re concerned about their safety long term and will be monitoring the situation,� Gregg said. �It was a dangerous situation. These dogs are trained to kill each other and they were surely a danger to the children.�
Kendrick also faces federal charges of conspiracy to sponsor and promote an animal fighting venture and having an illegal gambling business. Kendrick joins five other people from Cincinnati, Trotwood and Brookville, Ohio, who were charged with federal crimes. Additional federal charges against numerous people are anticipated.
Dubbed Operation Bite Back, the raid, which happened simultaneously in Cincinnati and Dayton on Saturday, was the largest single effort by federal, state and local agents � a total of 22 agencies � against organized dogfighting in Ohio, said Fred Alverson, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney�s Office in Southern Ohio.
The raid at the warehouse in Dayton happened just before the dogfighting was to begin. Alverson said more than two dozen people waiting for the fights. Seized along with the dogs was $30,000 in cash, firearms, three pounds of marijuana, and three ounces each of crack and powder cocaine.
Alverson said the dogs that were to fight were raised, trained and stored in Cincinnati. The local raids occurred at the following kennels in Cincinnati: 2537 Gilbert Ave., 3361 Saffer St. and 5912 Lantana Ave., Alverson said. Officials said dogs were seized at various locations.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the dogs involved were raised to kill. People raised the dogs and went city to city entering them in fights, he said.
�It�s like a boxing match, except the loser usually dies,� Deters said. �This sport is very vicious and it clearly attracts people involved in other illegal activities.�
People would attend the fights, paying an admittance fee of sometimes more than $100.
Once inside, they bet on matches, Deters said.
Not only is hosting dogfighting illegal, even watching it is a felony, Deters said.
Most dogfighting charges carry a penalty of up to 1� years in prison.
Cincinnati lifted its pit bull ban in 1999, then reinstated it in 2003 because people weren�t following the city�s strict registration requirements. Several other Hamilton County communities, including Golf Manor, enacted bans later that year. Others, including Springfield Township, imposed restrictions on pits, but stopped short of bans. | Source: The Enquirer - March 26, 2007
Update posted on Mar 27, 2007 - 5:46AM |
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