Dog-fighting Jeffersonville, IN (US) Incident Date: Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 County: Clark Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Charges: Felony CTA Alleged: » Calvin Oliver - Dismissed (Conditional) » Vernon L. Casey Upcoming Court Dates: » Monday, Oct 22, 2007: Casey's final pre-trial Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 10882 Classification: Fighting Animal: dog (non pit-bull), dog (pit-bull) View more cases in IN (US) Login to Watch this Case

Two Jeffersonville men have been arrested for allegedly encouraging a pit bull to attack a neighbor's dog.

Calvin Oliver, 33, of the 1600 block of National Avenue, and 31-year-old Vernon L. Casey were booked into the Clark County Jail in early March 2007 on charges of holding an animal fighting contest and animal cruelty.

During his initial appearance in Clark County Superior Court 3 on March 9 morning, Oliver adamantly denied the allegations against him as did several of his family members who were in attendance.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed against Oliver and Casey, the two men are accused of throwing a white pit bull over neighbor Mary Handley�s fence and encouraging it to attack her dog.

Police were called to 1614 National Ave. about 12:30 a.m. Feb. 13 where they found Handley, Oliver and Casey in a �heated, verbal altercation,� the affidavit says

Handley said she saw Oliver throw the pit bull over her fence and into her backyard then saw Oliver climb over the fence himself. Casey allegedly followed shortly thereafter.

Once inside the fence, Handley said the two men chased the pit bull around yelling �Sick �em.� Her dog suffered bite marks to its body and required veterinary treatment.

The affidavit is not clear as to whether the pit bull belonged to Oliver or Casey. Oliver�s girlfriend, 26-year-old Morgan Frantz, also of Jeffersonville, said Oliver does have a white pit bull named Sugar, but the dog in question belonged to Casey.

Oliver and Casey told police the dog jumped the fence, and they said they were only trying to retrieve it.

Frantz said Oliver and Handley had had continuous trouble and that Handley was making false allegations. Handley corroborated part of that statement and said Oliver was continually angry that her dog sometimes barked in the middle of the night, the affidavit says.

Police, however, called Handley�s allegations �credible� in the affidavit. She did not return a phone call to her home Friday.

Oliver and Casey face revocation of their probation as a result of the charges. Oliver was on probation for neglect of a dependent while Casey was on probation for charges that include aggravated battery, intimidation and public intoxication.

Oliver was released Friday on a $2,500 court cash bond. Casey has not yet had an initial court appearance.

Detective Charlie Thompson with the Jeffersonville Police Department said he wasn�t familiar with the charges against Oliver and Casey but that dog-fighting rings weren�t necessarily a problem in Jeffersonville.

�We have isolated instances occasionally,� he said, �but I wouldn�t take it any further than that.�

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News-Tribune - March 10, 2007

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