Case Snapshot

Case ID: 13514

Classification: Fighting

Animal: dog (non pit-bull), dog (pit-bull)

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Dog-fighting
Warner Robins, GA (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Mar 27, 2008
County: Houston

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged:
» Shawn Travis Hightower
» Janaurus Vonques Tharpe
» Terrance Marquez Prater

In all, there were nine people, including children, gathered around two bloody pit bulls in a wooded area in the middle of the afternoon Thursday for a "street-level dogfight" on whose dog was "the baddest," police say.

Warner Robins police received a tip about 2:30 p.m. and were able to sneak officers into place and interrupt the dogfight, which one spectator was filming as a video to put on the Internet and another was taking photos of with a cell phone, Warner Robins police detective Karen Stokes said.

Three adults and two 16-year-old boys were arrested on dogfighting charges, with the juveniles released to their parents, Stokes said.

The dogs, a pit bull and a pit-bull mixed breed, were euthanized by authorities, said Warner Robins police Capt. Brenda Parks-Mathern, who heads up animal control.

Street-level dogfighting is probably more common than most folks would think, Stokes said.

The problem for law enforcement is that such dogfights tend to be spontaneous and are over before anyone is the wiser or can alert police, Stokes said. Also, fear of the violators may cause citizens to be reluctant to report the illegal activity, she said.

Usually, street-level dogfights are spur-of-the-moment events among juveniles or gang members, Parks-Mathern said. Typically, the dogs fight until one doesn't want to fight anymore - not unto death, Stokes said.

"I don't believe people realize how gruesome they are," Stokes said. "I looked at the video and it was the most disgusting thing I've seen. It's terrible."

In this incident, there was no evidence to indicate gang involvement or gambling, the detective said.

It was more a "my dog is badder than your dog kind of thing," she said. "A lot of mouth involved," the detective said.

Shawn Travis Hightower, 30, who owned the pit bull, Janaurus Vonques Tharpe, 17, who owned the mixed breed, and Terrance Marquez Prater, 19, all of Warner Robins, also were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and obstruction of an officer. They were being held Friday at the Houston County jail.

Two other adults detained at the scene were released because it was determined they were not involved in the dogfighting but were in the wrong place at the wrong time, Stokes said.

Two children, ages 10 and 12, were with their stepfather, who was among those arrested, the detective said. The children, who were "real upset" from witnessing the dogfight, are now with their grandmother. The state Division of Family and Children and Services is investigating, Stokes said.

Friday afternoon, Stokes and Parks-Mathern showed a Telegraph reporter where the dogfight was staged, in a wooded area adjacent to a large field between Francis Street and North Davis Drive.

A dirt path winds down through a narrow patch of woods that stretches down a rolling hill from Francis to North Davis. Francis Street runs along a mostly residential area. The patch of woods is south of Lindsey Elementary School and two churches. Commercial businesses line North Davis Drive, which runs parallel to this section of Francis Street.

Along the dirt path into the woods, empty food containers, liquor and beer bottles and soft-drink cans are littered among the leaves. A short distance from the pavement at Francis Street, the path opens into a couple of clearings where it appears that people have been partying and possibly sleeping, Stokes said.

It was in this area, the detective said, where the dogfight took place.

"To me, it's gory. It's just terrible," said Stokes, who said she hopes the arrests will encourage more reporting by the public of such incidents.

Dogfighting is a felony, and Stokes said she will aggressively seek people who participate in the crime but that police need help from the public to catch violators in the act.

Mike Jones, 27, who remodels homes, lives across the street from the open field adjacent to the wooded area. He was at home when police quietly swarmed in without lights or sirens. He had no idea what was going on, he said, until "a bunch of police cars" started pulling up quickly.

Jones said he had not heard of any dogfighting before in the neighborhood and didn't find out what had gone on in the nearby woods until later.

References

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