Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Dog-fighting - 10 dogs seized

Dog-fighting - 10 dogs seized
Walterboro, SC (US)

Incident Date: Monday, May 31, 2004
County: Colleton
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Charges: Felony CTA

Abuser/Suspect: Phillip Michael Maffei

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 11812

Classification: Fighting

Animal: dog (pit-bull)

View more cases in SC (US)

Phillip Michael Maffei, 45, of Walterboro faces four felony charges related to animal fighting and ill treatment of animals at his home at 56 Benton Farm Road, from which state and local law enforcement removed last year at least 10 pit bulls and dog fighting training paraphernalia, according to the S.C. Attorney General's Office, the agency prosecuting the case.

Prosecutors said they believe Maffei has been staging dog fights and training the animals on his property since 2004, when he moved to South Carolina from Connecticut. They said they don't know how widespread the operation reached but doubt it attracted high-dollar fighters.

Maffei's son and neighbors turned him in, said Mark Plowden, spokesman for the S.C. Attorney General's Office.

Jury selection for Maffei's trial is set for Monday afternoon at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, and the trial is expected to begin Tuesday. Prosecutors said they expect the case to take about four days.

If convicted, Maffei could receive up to five years in prison on each of the four charges.

Case Updates

A Walterboro man charged in a dog-fighting operation was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $20,000 after a jury found him guilty Thursday afternoon.

The jury, which deliberated for about four hours, found Phillip Maffei Sr., 45, guilty of animal fighting, ill treatment of animals, owning animals for the purpose of fighting and making a structure available for animal fighting.

Maffei was arrested in January 2006 when police searched his property on Benton Farm Road in rural Colleton County and seized 10 pit bulls, along with logging chains, an outdoor dog pen and other dog-fighting paraphernalia. Neighbors and Maffei's son tipped off police, prosecutors said.

"This case resulted from someone picking up the phone," said Mark Plowden, spokesman for the S.C. Attorney's General's Office, the agency that prosecuted the case. "This crime in particular, this is such a secretive underworld. Most people are not exposed to it. ... We have a definite problem in South Carolina."

The State Law Enforcement Division investigated the case because it's part of the Attorney General's Office's dog-fighting task force formed in 2003.

Maffei's guilty verdict was the first jury conviction in an animal fighting case brought by the task force. Of the 42 animal fighting arrests made by the task force, 17 resulted in guilty pleas, three were dismissed, two were found not guilty by a jury and the rest are pending, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Each of the four charges in Maffei's case carried a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, which Circuit Court Judge George James gave Maffei, but suspended it to three years in prison and three years probation, Plowden said.

Maffei's trial lasted three days.

Maffei, represented by attorneys Bobby Bonds and Scott Harvin of Walterboro, chose not to testify at his trial.

"Obviously, we're disappointed in the jury's verdict," Harvin said. "We thought the evidence showed the boys who claimed to see a fight had a vengeful motive in attacking Mr. Maffei," adding Maffei's family and the boys' family had an ongoing feud.

Harvin said they may appeal.

Source: Island Packet - July 27, 2007
Update posted on Jul 27, 2007 - 4:25AM

Back to Top

Neighborhood Map

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

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

Digg

Furl

References

Beaufort Gazette - July 21, 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.

Site Map ¤ Disclaimer ¤ Privacy Policy

Dog-fighting - 10 dogs seizedWalterboro, SC (US)

Case Updates

Neighborhood Map

References

Dog-fighting - 10 dogs seized
Walterboro, SC (US)