Seven More Dog Fighters Convicted and Sentenced

June 3, 2010-United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois sentenced seven men in their involvment in the largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history. Jail terms range from one to two years along with supervision following their incarceration. Read the official news release from the United States Attorney.

February 23, 2010- A fifth admitted dog fighter was sentenced in US District Court in Kansas City to serve 16 months in federal prison.  His prison time will be followed by three years of probation during which he will not be allowed to own any dogs. 

December 8, 2009- Noting the “torture” inflicted by people “who train dogs to maim other dogs because that’s where the money is,” today the Honorable Carol E. Jackson, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, sentenced four of the defendants in the largest dog fighting case in U.S. history to terms in federal prison ranging from 12 months and one day to 18 months. Judge Jackson stated the crimes these defendants committed rose to the level of “extraordinary cruelty” warranting sentences which would be a “deterrence to the defendants and the community.”

Although these sentences exceed current federal sentencing guidelines and we applaud Judge Jackson for imposing them, we at the Humane Society of Missouri believe federal and state dog fighting penalties and sentences should be strengthened to reflect the very serious nature of this heinous crime. In the coming weeks and months, we will be working to help convince those responsible to improve the sentencing guidelines and to increase the penalties for dog fighting, both on the federal and state levels.

BACKGROUND

On July 8, 2009 a multi-state federal dog fighting raid resulted in the rescue of more than 500 fighting dogs. Federal agents made 26 arrests and dogs were rescued in 8 states. This rescue operation was the largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history. The Humane Society of Missouri participated in the 18-month investigation and led the subsequent rescue and shelter operations, working in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service and the United States Attorneys in the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri and the Southern Illinois District.

Thank You To

Special thanks to the following groups involved in our sheltering efforts:

American Humane Association AZ, CO, FL, IN, MA, NE, OH, TX, WA Animal Aid of Oregon Animal Humane Society of Minnesota ASPCA of New York APA of Missouri Atlanta Humane Society of Georgia Best Friends Animal Society of Utah Brazos Animal Shelter of Texas Brew City Bullies of Wisconsin Broken Hearts, Mended Souls Cape Cod DART of Massachusetts Denver Dumb Friends League of Colorado Greater St. Louis Training Club of Missouri Hawaiian Humane Society Hello Bully from Pennsylvania Hickey College of Missouri Humane Society of Central Illinois Humane Society of Greater Kansas City

Humane Society of Missouri Humane Society of the United States CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN KS, KY, LA, MD, MI MO, MS, ND, NH, NJ, PA, TN, VA, WA, WI Kauai Humane Society of Hawaii Michigan Humane Society Mutts n Stuff (IL, MO) Oregon Humane Society Our Pack of California Pit Bull Rescue Central CA, GA, IL, MA, MD, MO, PA, VA and Canada Pierce County Animal Rescue Team (NC, WA) Seattle Humane Society of Washington Sioux Empire Pit Bull Rescue of South Dakota Spay and Neuter Kansas City of Kansas United Animal Nations AL, AR, CA, CO IA, IL, IN, KS, MN, MO MS, OH, OK, PA, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV, WA

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