Dog-fighting, 9 seized, one infested with maggots Alvarado, TX (US) Incident Date: Monday, Apr 30, 2007 County: Johnson Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Charges: Felony CTA Case Images: 1 files available Abuser/Suspect: Kristopher Crawford Webb Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 11359 Classification: Fighting, Neglect / Abandonment Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in TX (US) Drugs or alcohol involved Login to Watch this Case

An Alvarado man, who faces animal cruelty charges after complaints of pit bull fights at his home, was spending nights in a Johnson County jail for two misdemeanor marijuana possession charges, a sheriff�s spokeswoman said.

On Tuesday, Kristopher Webb, 20, was spending the whole day in jail, with bond set at $150,000 for the animal cruelty charge.

Meanwhile, nine dogs seized on April 30 on his property, some with injuries consistent with dog fighting, were being cared for by the Humane Society of North Texas.

Tammy Hawley, the group�s operations director, said a custody hearing for the animals has been set for May 9 before a Johnson County justice of the peace.

Webb had been serving time for the marijuana charges as an "overnight inmate" at the Johnson County Corrections Center, said Cpl. Pam Jetsel, the sheriff�s spokeswoman.

"The idea of 'overnights' is that the inmates can work during the day," she explained, "but we have no way of knowing what they actually do. Our part in all this is just to house them."

Neighbors complained to deputies about dog fighting on the property where Webb lives in the 3000 block of North Cummings, on the north side of Alvarado, Jetsel said.

Deputies served Webb with a warrant to seize dogs at the property, Jetsel said. They also arrested him for animal cruelty.

Hawley noted that investigators did not find any direct evidence of dog fighting at Webb's home. She explained, however, that there are different levels of dog fighting.

For example, she said, there are "hobbyists� who simply walk down a street to see if their dogs would fight with others. In other cases, people build special pits and have concession stands and bookies to take bets.

"In any case, dog fighting is illegal,� she said.

What is clear, however, is that the dogs seized on Monday, including a pregnant female, were living in filthy conditions, Hawley said.

All lived in feces and urine and had little water. One dog was covered with maggots and they all appeared to be malnourished, Hawley said.

The dogs also had intestinal parasites.

Several dogs had bite marks consistent with fighting, Hawley said.

�The dog with maggots was in so much pain, it was hard for the staff to deal with it,� Hawley said.

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References

	NBC5 - May 1, 2007
	Star-Telegram

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