Dog-fighting
Corbin, KY (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008
County: Laurel
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Joe C. Lewis, III
» Joe Lewis, Jr. - Dismissed
» Dalton Brewer
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Three men face charges after police say a dog fighting ring was uncovered in Laurel County.
The sheriff's department says that Tuesday night they were sent to Adams Road, located north of Corbin. They found a dog chained to a tree and say a pit bull had been fighting a stray dog in the area. The animals were injured to the point that neither could walk.
Deputies say they found the names of 67 dogs as well as several dog kennels involved in the dog fighting. Some of the animals were named The Ripper, Cut Throat, The Butcher and the Beast.
Joe C. Lewis III, Joe Lewis, Jr. and Dalton Brewer face animal cruelty charges.
Case UpdatesThe charges of animal cruelty against one of the three men involved in an alleged dogfighting ring were dismissed Friday in Laurel County Circuit Court at the request of the commonwealth.
A motion was made by Commonwealth's Attorney Jackie Steele to have the first-degree cruelty to animals charge against Joe Lewis Jr. dismissed because he felt there wasn't enough evidence to continue with the case.
Steele said even though Lewis was indicted on the charge in August, the case was still being investigated. That investigation found there was not sufficient evidence at this time to proceed with Lewis' prosecution, Steele said.
Senior Judge Roderick Messer ordered that the charges be dismissed without prejudice, meaning if further investigation were to show a sufficient amount of evidence against Lewis, the charges could be brought up again in the future.
Lewis, along with his son, Joe Lewis III, and Dalton Brewer were present in court Friday. Messer set a pretrial conference for Lewis III and Brewer for Nov. 21 in Laurel County Circuit Court.
The men were charged after police were called out to an Adams Road residence in North Corbin in June to a complaint of dogfighting. When they arrived, officials say they found a pit bull tied to a tree which appeared to have been involved in fighting.
According to police, the men had allegedly caught a stray dog which they were using to train the pit bull for dogfighting. Police said both animals were wounded and needed to be helped from the scene.
Further investigation led to the discovery of a list of 67 dogs and several kennel names officials believe to be involved in dogfighting.
The charge of first-degree cruelty to animals is now a Class D felony. Lewis III and Brewer face one to five years in prison if convicted. | Source: The Tiems Tribune - Oct 20, 2008
Update posted on Oct 20, 2008 - 12:32PM |
Three men facing charges of animal cruelty after police discovered evidence of alleged dogfighting ring were indicted Friday in Laurel County Circuit Court.
Joe C. Lewis III, Joe C. Lewis, Jr., and Dalton Brewer were indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree cruelty to animals. Joe Lewis III was also indicted on one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, first offense.
Members of the Laurel County Sheriff's Office were dispatched at around 1 a.m. June 25 to a residence on Adams Road in North Corbin in reference to a complaint of dogfighting.
Once they arrived, deputies found a pit bull tied to a tree. According to police, the dog appeared to have been fighting.
Police located the dog's owner, Joe Lewis III, along with his father, Joe Lewis, Jr., and friend Dalton Brewer, who, according to police, denied the dogfighting, although one of the men had blood on his clothing.
According to police, the pit bull's owners had allegedly caught a stray dog that had been running around the neighborhood and had tied it to a stairwell near the home. Police said there were several areas of blood leading to where the stray was being kept.
Deputy Richard Sapcut believes the men learned police were on the way to the residence via a police scanner and cut the stray dog loose. They then attempted to wash blood off the pit bull, but Sapcut said bite wounds were visible on the dog when police arrived.
The stray was later found under a wooden deck near the residence. Sapcut said evidence was present that this dog, too, had been fighting. According to police, both dogs were injured to the point that they had to be helped off the property by employees of the Laurel County Animal Shelter.
After further investigation, police say they discovered the names of 67 dogs - such as The Ripper, Cut Throat, The Butcher and The Beast - as well as several kennel names - including Syndicate Pits, Midwest Mafia, Killa Capos Kennel and Strait Beast - which they believed to be involved in dogfighting.
Lewis, Jr., Lewis III and Brewer were not arrested following the incident, but Sapcut said at the time he was building a case to have them indicted.
Laurel County Animal Shelter supervisor David Coffey said the dogs have recovered well, but are being held at the shelter to be used as evidence in the case.
On the charges of first-degree cruelty to animals, a Class D felony, the three men face one to five years in prison if convicted. | Source: The Times Tribune - Aug 18, 2008
Update posted on Aug 18, 2008 - 6:08PM |
Three people are facing charges of animal cruelty after officials from the Laurel County Sheriff's Office discovered evidence of alleged dogfighting at a residence located in north Corbin early Wednesday morning.
Deputies Richard Sapcut, Robert Mitchell and John Inman were dispatched around 1 a.m. Wednesday to a residence on Adams Road in reference to a complaint of dogfighting. Upon arrival, the deputies found a single pit bull tied to a tree that appeared to have been fighting.
The deputies were able to locate the pit bull's owner, Joe C. Lewis III, along with his father, Joe Lewis, Jr., and family friend Dalton Brewer. Despite their denial of fighting the dog, Deputy Sapcut said it wasn't only the animal that displayed evidence of dogfighting.
"The owners completely denied the incident," Sapcut said. "They no sooner said that than we looked and one of them had blood on his shirt and jeans."
It was discovered the pit bull's owners had allegedly caught a stray dog that had been running around the neighborhood, and tied to a stairwell near their home. According to a police release, there were several areas of blood leading to where the stray was kept. Sapcut believes the owners learned deputies were on the way from a police scanner, and at that time cut the stray dog loose and attempted to wash the blood off of the pit bull by using a pool located in their yard. However, Sapcut said there were bite wounds on the pit bull.
"Their pit bull had been chewed up pretty good," he said.
The stray dog, a mixed breed, was later found under a wooden deck at a nearby residence. There was also evidence this dog had been fighting, Sapcut said.
"It was pretty much immobile," he said. "It was hurt pretty bad."
Sapcut said both animals were injured to the point that they were unable to walk without assistance and had to be helped off the property. The animals were removed by animal control and taken to the Laurel County Animal Shelter. However, Sapcut said the animals were doing much better Wednesday afternoon.
"Both of them seem to be doing well," he said. "They were up and around."
Further investigation led to the discovery of a list of the names of 67 dogs, as well as several kennel names believed to be involved in dogfighting. Some of the kennel names listed were Syndicate Pits, Midwest Mafia, Killa Capos Kennel and Strait Beast. Some of the dog names listed were The Ripper, Cut Throat, The Butcher and The Beast.
Sapcut said evidence indicated the men involved in the alleged dogfighting incident were amateurs. He said often when pit bulls are trained to fight, the owners will put them against a muzzled dog. The wounds to the pit pull show that was not the case in this incident.
"It's like the way you train a boxer, like a tune-up fight," Sapcut said. "I'd say with the way it went down, these guys are very, very inexperienced."
Although the dogs are doing better, Sapcut said due to the Laurel County Animal Shelter's lack of a veterinarian, the extent of damage to them is not known. However, Sapcut, a pet owner whose wife has done rescue work, said he is going to see to it the animals will not be euthanized.
"They're going to be entered as evidence," he said. "I'm dead set that these dogs won't be euthanized."
Sapcut also said he wants to see to it the dogs become part of a rescue program upon their recovery.
The three suspects were not arrested or cited Wednesday. However, the investigation is continuing and the men face charges of first-degree cruelty to animals, a class D felony, for which they may face one to five years in prison.
"I'm building a case and they will be indicted on cruelty to animals, first (degree)," Sapcut said.
There may be harsher penalties for people taking part in dogfighting in the future, Sapcut said. After the first of July, and following the publicity surrounding the Michael Vick dogfighting incident, Sapcut said laws against cruelty to animals of this nature will likely be strengthened.
"It's supposed to give a little bite to these cases against dogfighting," he said. | Source: The Times-Tribune - June 28, 2008
Update posted on Jun 29, 2008 - 2:16AM |
References
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