53 Detroit Dog Fighters and Spectators Busted
Cash, Weapons, Drugs SeizedDetroit, MI - Two dozen Wayne County deputies, including the Sheriff’s Special Response Team, as well as federal Drug Enforcement Agency agents and Michigan Humane Society officers, raided a dogfight being held just after midnight on Sunday inside a two-car garage on the east side. More than 50 people were arrested and $27,000 in cash was seized.
Spectators, as well as the fight’s ring leaders, now face
felony animal fighting charges that carry up to four years in prison if they are convicted. Four people identified as organizers could face additional fines. A total of 53 people were arrested, including three juveniles under 17 who were turned over to their parents. Three handguns were also seized along with small amounts of narcotics.
The raid is significant because it is the first conducted by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in a number of years. It is also significant because organizers and spectators usually operate in secrecy making it difficult for law enforcement to be properly positioned to raid a fight. Two pit bulls were injured from a fight match, one of which was shot after it bit a deputy then fled. It's reportedly still running loose.
In other news:
20 Fighting Dogs Placed Into HomesSouth Holland, IL - In July 2007, 37 pit bulls were seized following a raid on a Chicago suburb home. Authorities called it the largest dog fighting training operation in the state. Kevin Taylor, 29, has been charged in the case. More than 20 dogs have new homes in what is being called the first case in Illinois history where so many animals have been adopted following a raid.
The article does not state into what
types of homes the dogs were placed. Most of the time, ex-fighting dogs are placed with owners that have considerable property space, the dogs live outside the home in a penned environment and continue the only path of existence that they know: isolation and restriction from human and other animals.
These are hardly "family dogs" with colossal liability insurance to boot.
Related articles:03/12/08:
Bloodsport Bust: Alleged Bloodsport Breeds Charged03/06/08:
Wyoming Becomes 50th State to Criminalize DogfightingLabels: dogfighting
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