The fate of five pit bulls remains unknown, but their owners are facing charges after police broke up an alleged dog fighting ring Sunday.
Ray Ishom, 24, 6403 Stewart Road, Silverton, was charged with dog fighting, cruelty to animals and possession of drug paraphernalia. Robert Williams of Woodlawn was charged with dog fighting, cruelty to animals and failing to register a dog. The dog fighting charges are felonies, but the other charges are misdemeanors.
The Hamilton County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals filed the animal cruelty, failure to register, and dog fighting charges, while Silverton police lodged the drug paraphernalia charge, said Hamilton County SPCA Sgt. Todd Manser.
The dogs are being held by the SPCA pending possible trials over the charges. The dogs�are considered evidence, according to�Sgt. Manser. "Their injuries were not life-threatening." The injuries include bitten faces, necks and limbs.
"Generally, dogs that are trained for pit fighting are not people-aggressive," the sergeant said. "We loaded them up on a truck with no incidents at all. They showed no aggression toward any of us."
A judge will decide the disposition of the five dogs. They could either be given back to their owners or be destroyed. They will not be put up for adoption, Sgt. Manser said.
"If we get a conviction, I don't think the judge is going to send them home," Sgt. Manser said.
A Silverton police officer on patrol Sunday shortly after 10 p.m. found pit bulls with fresh injuries in several cars parked in the 6400 block of Stewart Road. At 6403 Stewart Road, police found training equipment, blood and other evidence of dog fighting, Silverton police Dispatcher Reginald Chatman said.
SPCA officials said they occasionally uncover dog fighting operations, but Silverton police said it's rare to find one in this central-Hamilton County town. Case UpdatesHamilton County prosecutors may be forced to drop charges of dog fighting and cruelty to animals against Robert Williams because the key piece of evidence is missing.
Someone stole the pit bull authorities confiscated after Williams and Raymond Isham were arrested in February when police discovered a dog fighting arena in the basement of a Silverton home.
The dog was stolen from the Hamilton County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter in Northside two days after it was taken there following the arrests. Now, without the dog, Williams' attorney, Ken Lawson, wants the charges dropped.
Read more at the Update posted on May 15, 2003 - 4:26AM |
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