Oglethorpe County authorities have arrested two more men in connection with a Nov 12 morning raid on a dog fight near Lexington.
Marcel Dangelo Lunceford, 27, of Philomath turned himself in to the Oglethorpe County Jail on Nov 16 on charges of dog fighting and being a party to the crime of dog fighting, said Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith.
Woodrow Monday III, 36, of Eatonton turned himself in at the jail on Nov 17 after Oglethorpe authorities notified him he was wanted earlier this week. Monday is charged with being a party to the crime of dog fighting.
Both remained in the Oglethorpe County jail Friday afternoon in lieu of $5,000 bond, Smith said.
Two other men were arrested: Daniel Wayne McElhannon of Oglethorpe County and Odis Bernard Speights of Milledgeville.
Arrest warrants for two other suspects haven't yet been served.
McElhannon, 32, was arrested shortly after 9 a.m. Nov 12 when deputies went to his 251 Wesley Chapel Road house near Lexington after a tipster called 911 at about 9:15 a.m. to report that a group of men were fighting pit bull dogs at the house, according to an Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Department report.
A group of about a dozen men fled on foot as Oglethorpe County Chief Deputy Fletcher Mattox and Sgt. Randy McElhannon (no relation to Daniel Wayne McElhannon) approached the house, set far back from the road. The men left behind about 15 trucks and cars parked around the house, according to the report.
Several of the trucks carried cages with pit bulls in them, Smith said.
Two dogs had been fighting. Both were so badly injured they had to be euthanized, Smith said.
McElhannon, 32, was released after posting a $5,000 bond on charges of felony cruelty to animals, dog fighting and keeping a disorderly house.
McElhannon could face additional charges from the state Department of Natural Resources. Deputies found an alligator about 2 feet long inside McEllhannon's house, but the man did not have the a permit from the state to possess the animal, Smith said. The little gator was turned over to the DNR, Smith said.
Deputies picked up Speights, 43, shortly after arresting Daniel Wayne McElhannon on Sunday. Deputies stopped to talk to Speights as he walked along nearby Elberton Road, about a mile from the Wesley Chapel Road house, Smith said. Speights told deputies someone had stolen his truck when he stopped to relieve himself at the intersection of Wesley Chapel and Elberton roads.
Speights' truck was one of those left behind at the Wesley Chapel Road house when the men fled from the oncoming deputies, however. Speights, who said he worked at Rivers State Prison in Hardwick, also posted $5,000 bond after he was charged with making a false report of a crime as well as dog fighting.
Speights has been suspended for 15 days with pay pending further disciplinary action, said Malie McCord, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.
Smith said he had heard rumors of dog fighting in the county two years ago as he campaigned to be elected sheriff, but until Sunday did not have enough solid information to make an arrest.
Smith said this was the first dog-fighting bust he recalls in 27 years of working in law enforcement in Oglethorpe County. Case UpdatesAuthorities in rural Oglethorpe County last November busted the largest known dog-fighting ring in the area in recent history.
Deputies responding to a complaint of dogs fighting on Wesley Chapel Road in Lexington came upon a group of as many as 40 men who scattered, leaving behind a blood-stained fighting pit and dogs including pit bulls chained to trees and in cages. Two animals were so badly injured they had to be put down.
Deputies also found treadmills that the dogs are tied to while training to fight.
Six men later were arrested and are set to stand trial in October on felony dog-fighting and aggravated animal cruelty charges.
"I don't think it was a big operation, but we did have people coming from other counties to fight their dogs," Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith said. "I'd call it a mediocre operation." | Source: Online Athens � Jul 23, 2007
Update posted on Jul 23, 2007 - 12:59PM |
Oglethorpe County authorities have charged six men in connection with a November dog-fighting raid and may charge more before the Oglethorpe County grand jury convenes in May to hand down indictments.
Quientelle Dunn, 20, of Washington and Anthony Welborn, 22, of Rayle turned themselves in at the Oglethorpe County jail earlier this month to be booked on the charge of being a party to the crime of dog fighting. Both walked out of the jail after posting a $4,000 bond.
They were the fifth and sixth men charged with participating in fighting pit bull dogs after a raid Nov. 12 on Wesley Chapel Road near Lexington.
Dunn and Welborn were the last of six men named in arrest warrants Oglethorpe investigators issued after their initial investigation, but more might be arrested as the investigation continues, said Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith.
The next legal step in prosecuting the men likely will come in May, when an Oglethorpe County grand jury could indict the six on felony charges, Smith said.
Oglethorpe County sheriff's deputies went to 251 Wesley Chapel Road after someone called 911 shortly after 9 a.m. that Sunday to report that men were fighting dogs there.
Deputies arrested the man who lived at the house, Daniel Wayne McElhannon, 32, on the scene and took a Milledgeville prison guard named Odis Bernard Speights into custody a short time later as he walked along a nearby road.
McElhannon was charged with felony cruelty to animals, dog fighting and keeping a disorderly house. Speights was charged with making a false report of a crime and being a party to dog fighting. Both men were later released after posting $5,000 bonds.
According to an Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Department report, more than a dozen men ran away as Chief Deputy Fletcher Mattox and Sgt. Randy McElhannon (who is not related to Daniel Wayne McElhannon) drove up to the house, well off the road.
The men who fled left behind their trucks and cars. Several of the vehicles contained dogs in cages, some of them injured, according to the report.
Two dogs found in a fighting ring were so badly hurt they had to be euthanized, Smith said.
Marcel Dangelo Lunceford, 27, of Philomath and Woodrow Monday III, 36, of Eatonton also were charged with participating in the dog fighting. Both were released from jail after posting $5,000 bond each in November.
Lunceford is charged with dog fighting and being a party to the crime of dog fighting. Monday is charged with being a party to the crime of dog fighting. | Source: Online Athens - Dec 21, 2006
Update posted on Dec 21, 2006 - 11:09AM |
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