Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Dog-fighting - 39 dogs, drugs, cash seized

Cruelty Database » Case Details

Case Snapshot

Case ID: 11478

Classification: Fighting

Animal: dog (pit-bull)

More cases in Sumter County, SC

More cases in SC

Drugs or alcohol involved

Login to Watch this Case

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Dog-fighting - 39 dogs, drugs, cash seized
Sumter, SC (US)

Incident Date: Friday, May 25, 2007
County: Sumter

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» Larry Rose
» Ervin Bracey
» Frank Wilson
» Ursula Andrews
» Hercules Sharper
» John Rose
» Gwendolyn Burris
» Gregory Wright - Convicted

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Attorney General Henry McMaster's says he will prosecute a dogfighting case that involves a Sumter man who was already out on bail on dogfighting charges when he was arrested last week.

Tens of thousands of dollars in drugs and cash are among the evidence collected in that raid against a suspected dog fighting ring in Sumter County. As for the dogs seized, their fate is unclear.

Cpt. Allen Daley says, "I don't know. They're pretty vicious towards each other."

The county veterinarian is deciding whether the animals believed to be used for fighting can be rehabilitated. Cpt. Daley says, "We had one Friday night try to bite a couple of us."

The Sumter County Sheriff's Department made the bust on Friday around 10:30pm at a home on Silo Road.

Officials say the home belongs to Gregory Wright and Gwendolyn Burris.

Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis told WIS that 39 pit bulls were seized, along with drugs with a street value of $14,000. Officials also seized $6,000 in cash.

Authorities arrested eight people: John Rose, Ervin Bracey, Frank Wilson, Ursula Andrews, Hercules Sharper, Larry Rose, Gwendolyn Burris and Gregory Wright. The charges include trafficking crack cocaine, cocaine possession, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and ill treatment of animals.

Authorities say the drugs seized included 53 grams of crack cocaine, 28 grams of cocaine and 30 grams of marijuana.

Sheriff Dennis said the incident is still under investigation and there will probably be more arrests.

Gwendolyn Burris, who is out on bond, says the $20,000 worth of drugs and cash police seized belong to Frankie Wilson - the man renting the house that sits behind her home. As for the dogs - Burris says they stayed behind a fence too. They were her husband's pets and she says she never saw them.

The dogs are being held at the Sheriff's Department's Animal Shelter.

Case Updates

A Sumter County man got 25 years in prison for dog fighting, drug and weapons charges. Back in 2007, deputies raided Gregory Wright's home and seized 41 pit bulls.

The animals were part of a dog fighting operation and 16 of them were put down because they couldn't be rehabilitated to not attack and kill other animals.

Wright was found guilty Wednesday.

The Attorney General's office prosecuted the case against Wright.

Source: Carolina Alive - Jan 16, 2009
Update posted on Jan 16, 2009 - 1:13AM

Back to Top

Animal experts in Sumter County say the 41 pit bulls believed to have been used for dog fighting can be adopted.

Officials spent the last week evaluating the dogs and say they appear playful and safe towards people .

Dozens of pit bulls were seized during a drug bust at a house on Silo Road after officers say they found them chained up along with dog fighting equipment.

Some of the animals had scars on their bodies and face.

The county veterinarian, Dr. Robert Cook, believes the dogs were used more for protecting property than fighting. However, Cook says that doesn't mean the animals weren't being trained to fight.

He says the dogs are underweight and are on the road to being rehabilitated.

Source: WISTV.com
Update posted on Jun 2, 2007 - 5:34PM

Back to Top

The South Carolina Attorney General's Office on Tuesday took over prosecution of a dogfighting case in Sumter County that involves an alleged repeat offender awaiting trial in a Clarendon County case.

Gregory Wright, 37, of Sumter, who was charged in December 2006 with animal fighting in Clarendon County, was charged Friday by Sumter County sheriff's deputies with drug trafficking and ill treatment of animals.

Mark Plowden, a spokesman for Attorney General Henry McMaster, said prosecutors might seek to have Wright's bail in the Clarendon County case revoked.

The Sumter County Sheriff's Department charged seven others with drug trafficking Friday, two of them from Clarendon County and the rest from Sumter County.

Authorities recovered 53 grams of crack cocaine, 28 grams of power cocaine and 30 grams of marijuana. Along with the drugs, valued at $14,000, investigators also seized $6,900 in cash.

Tripp Mays, an investigator with the Sheriff's Department, said the agency probably will decide this week whether to euthanize the 41 pit bulls used for dogfighting or put them up for adoption.

Investigators found the animals chained to stakes deep in the woods last week, leading to the arrests.

Mays said the dogs are being kept at a local animal shelter and by a local veterinarian, who is expected to make a recommendation on the dogs' fates within two or three days.

"They could be dangerous," Mays said.

Dogs seized in a 2004 case in Sumter County were put down, he said.

McMaster formed a task force in 2004 to prosecute animal fighting, acting at the request of local prosecutors who said the cases typically were intertwined with drug trafficking.

The Attorney General's office was involved in two Sumter County cases last September that led to guilty pleas involving animal fighting, a felony, or presence at an animal fight, a misdemeanor.

Source: Palmetto Cops - May 31, 2007
Update posted on May 31, 2007 - 12:58PM

Back to Top

References

« SC State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Sumter County, SC
Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.

Site Map ¤ Disclaimer ¤ Privacy Policy

Dog-fighting - 39 dogs, drugs, cash seizedSumter, SC (US)

Case Updates

References

Dog-fighting - 39 dogs, drugs, cash seized
Sumter, SC (US)