Dog-fighting - 38 dogs seized
Mesquite, NM (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008
County: Dona Ana
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Nicholas Duttle
» Sharon Duttle
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Most of the 38 dogs seized this week in a suspected dog fighting case remained under evaluation Friday at a local shelter.
Dona Ana County animal control supervisor Curtis Childress said 36 pit bulls and a mixed breed dog were still being evaluated for their health and adoptability.
A 38th dog, also a pit bull, was euthanized because of its health, Childress said.
The dogs were seized Tuesday during what was initially believed to be an animal hoarding case at a home in the 300 block of Vine Avenue, about 10 miles south of Las Cruces.
But during the investigation, officers found what may be evidence that the dogs were used for fighting. Investigators subsequently seized documents, computer hard drives, journals as well as equipment believed used to train dogs.
Childress said the owner of the home, Sharon Duttle, is cooperating with the investigation
Case UpdatesAdditional charges are possible in the case of a mother and son indicted by a grand jury on dog-fighting
charges from 2008.
A total of 36 pit bulls, 26 indoor and feral cats and two mixed-breed dogs were seized last September from the Duttle
residence, a mobile home on four acres obscured by high weeds in the 300 block of Vine Avenue in Mesquite.
Nicholas Duttle, 28, and former dog breeder Sharon Duttle, 47, were indicted by a Do-a Ana County grand jury
last week on 63 total charges of dog fighting, conspiracy to commit dog fighting, nine counts of extreme cruelty
to animals, cruelty to animals, multiple animal site permit, number of animals allowed and intact animal permit,
according to documents filed Oct. 1 by the district attorney's office in state District Court.
Arraignment has been scheduled for Oct. 19.
The investigation is far from over, said county Animal Control Director Curtis Childress. Additional felony charges,
including charges for drugs believed to have been used on the animals, are pending, he said. Sharon Duttle told
Childress in 2008 the dogs received veterinary treatment in Mexico, according to court documents, and a forensic
veterinarian found signs of injected narcotics commonly used by dog fighters.
She allegedly told Childress "all of her dogs are healthy" but one, and that if officials said her dogs were fighting dogs
"then we are just going to put them all to sleep."
Most of the animals are still at the animal shelter, said Childress. Animal control is preparing to petition the court to
have the Duttles pay for the animals' care, estimated at $160,000 since the original seizure.
No matter what happens, Childress said he wants to ensure the dogs never again return to a fighting life. Some of the
dogs seized had their teeth filed flat or filed sharp and showed fighting scars on their face, ears and legs, according to
court documents.
"It's just kind of a sad state of affairs when you're looking at dogs and some of them are obviously the 'bait' dogs
because they've got their teeth filed down," said Childress, who said those dogs are now in stable condition and able
to eat. "I just remember looking at the teeth of some of them and thinking, my God, why would you do that to an
animal?"
Inside the home - described in court documents as cluttered with trash, even in the bathtubs, stripped of carpet and
with the plywood floor saturated and smelling of urine and feces - investigators recovered documents on dog fighting
and equipment that may be used to train dogs to fight, 19 boxes of videotapes, photographs, journals, computer hard
drives and injectable medication, including IVs. Cat litter boxes were found, overflowing, and Sharon Duttle said she
and her other son, Shawn, didn't have beds and slept on blankets on the floor.
Due to "flystrike," or maggots feeding off their open wounds, and heartworm, 14 dogs were euthanized last September
and October, authorities said.
According to court documents, the other dogs and cats were reported variously to be emaciated, deaf, unable to
stand, infested with ticks and fleas, suffering from eye injuries, infections, heartworm, open sores and tumors - one
as large as a grapefruit. One, with multiple old injuries, showed "major neurological signs. Could hardly walk, has 'star
gaze,' swaying of head and snapping at the air."
Officers also found graves where more dogs were believed to be buried. | Source: hssnm.org - Oct 10, 2009
Update posted on Dec 14, 2010 - 9:01PM |
A suspected animal hoarding case turned into a dog fighting investigation as officials removed possible evidence of the blood sport late Tuesday from a home south of Las Cruces, court documents indicate.
Investigators obtained a second search warrant that indicates 37 pit bulls �" described as being aggressive toward other dogs �" may have been used for dog fighting.
The warrant was filed Wednesday in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court and was served on a mobile home in the 300 block of Vine Avenue, about 10 miles south of Las Cruces. The home's occupants were identified as Sharon Duttle and her son, Shawn Duttle, ages unknown.
The case originated as a possible animal hoarding case when a ditch rider spotted the dogs on the property last week.
Investigators served an initial warrant Tuesday. But county animal control supervisor Curtis Childress said his officers stopped their work later Tuesday when they began observing evidence of possible dog fighting. That's when investigators sought and were granted the second warrant.
The court documents indicate that inside the home investigators recovered documents indicating dog fighting and equipment that may be used to train dogs to fight.
Also seized were 19 boxes of videotapes, photographs, journals, computer hard drives and injectable medication, including IVs.
Some of the dogs seized reportedly had their teeth filed flat or filed sharp and showed scars on their face, ears and legs.
Childress said the evidence was being evaluated and charges were possible. Graves believed to be those of dogs found on the Duttles' property will not be exhumed because they were believed old and "we would only find bones," and little or no evidence of dog fighting, Childress added.
Officers have finished removing the dogs, in addition to 26 cats found on the property.
Asked if the cats were used in possible fight training, Childress said someone "might use a cat, but at least from what I saw, I didn't see at this point that anything like that was going on."
If dog fighting charges are filed, it would be the third such case pending in the county.
In one case, a criminal trial for Gustavo Solis, 45, of Anthony, N.M,. is scheduled for October.
Twin brothers Daron and Duryea Scott, 45, of El Paso have been indicted in Doña Ana County, but a trial date has not been set.
The dogs found in the latest case were being evaluated at the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley and some will be placed in shelters in New Mexico and Arizona by animal rescue groups. | Source: currentargus.com - Sept 18, 2010
Update posted on Dec 14, 2010 - 8:46PM |
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