Dog-fighting - 3 dogs seized Kingstree, SC (US) Incident Date: Sunday, Jul 8, 2007 County: Georgetown Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Charges: Felony CTA Alleged: » Thomas Rice » Antoine Alonzo Vereen » Martez Walker

Case ID: 11776 Classification: Fighting Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in SC (US) Login to Watch this Case

Three Georgetown men have been released on bail after being charged with engaging in dog fighting.

Police charged the men Sunday after sheriff's deputies found them walking their injured pit bulls, according to a report from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office.

Charged are Thomas Rice, 18; Antoine Alonzo Vereen, 19; and Martez Walker, 19, police said.

Rice, Vereen and Walker were released on $5,000 bail each.

Johnson said if convicted of the felony offense, they face up to a $5,000 fine and five years in prison or both. Deputies responded to Giles Road after receiving a phone tip about dog fighting activity in that area, said Sgt. Neil Johnson, sheriff's office spokesman.

The first deputies to arrive on Giles Road found a group of young men walking from the end of the road and saw Rice, Vereen and Walker walking dogs on leashes, the sheriff's office reports.

Deputies saw two of the three pit bulls were bleeding from the head and mouth and the third was uninjured, according to Johnson.

An investigation then showed the men had taken the dogs out to fight to find out who had the toughest dog, which is known as "bark them off" in dog fighting lingo, the sheriff's office reports.

The pit bulls were taken by county animal control to the St. Francis Animal Shelter in Georgetown, according to the statement.

The dogs are in good condition and remain in the care of the St. Francis Humane Society in Georgetown, said Sgt. Neil Johnson with the Georgetown County sheriff's office. They will remain at the facility until a trial is held in circuit court. A judge will then decide what to do with the dogs.

He said the sheriff's office does not investigate many reports of dog fighting.

"We've heard of it happening before, but it's not something we deal with a lot," he said.

Neighborhood Map

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

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

Myrtle Beach online - July 12, 2007

« SC State Animal Cruelty Map

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.