Dog-fighting - 12 dogs seized - Richmond, VA

Saturday, Jun 20, 2009

County: Richmond City

Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted

Defendants/Suspects:
» Richard Edmond Antonio Robinson
» Ardeller Morris

Case Updates: 9 update(s) available

Richmond Police have seized 11 dogs from a home on Wright Avenue and charged a mother and son with animal cruelty and dog fighting.

"My brother is a good person and he wasn't involved in any type of dog ring or dog fighting activity or anything like that," says family member Connie Robinson.

Ardeller Morris and her son Richard Robinson are behind bars and charged with animal cruelty.

Morris faces three counts of animal cruelty and one count of promoting or allowing dog fighting.

Robinson is facing more that 13 charges, which include animal cruelty and promoting or engaging in dog fighting.

Robinson's sister is shocked.

"He stopped that a long time ago, being involved in any kind of criminal activity with dogs when he was originally prosecuted for that about three years ago."

Robinson claims the dogs were all in good health and says the family plans to hire a lawyer before heading to court.

"It's my mom and my brother your talking about people, that all they do is mind their business they don't get involved in nobody's else stuff. My mother never been involved in any type of trouble they are going to take my mother and do this to my mom."

Case Updates

A Richmond jury yesterday found a 61-year-old woman guilty of dogfighting and animal cruelty. The jury recommended that Ardeller Morris pay a $2,000 fine on the felony dogfighting charge and $1,000 on the misdemeanor animal-cruelty charge. Authorities say Morris allowed her son, Richard E. Robinson, and another man to participate in dogfighting activities at her home in the 2100 block of Wright Avenue in South Richmond. "She was providing a place for other people to train dogs in preparation for dogfighting," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jed Patterson said after the trial. Patterson said he was pleased with the verdict. "All we were looking for was for Ms. Morris to be held accountable and prevent this from happening at her house again," he said. Defense attorney Susan L. Parrish said, "While obviously we don't agree that Ms. Morris is guilty of anything, we certainly appreciate that . . . the jury -- they obviously found that she played a limited role." Robinson, 33, was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison on several dogfighting-related convictions. When he was arrested last summer, authorities recovered 12 dogs from the home he shared with Morris. Nine of the dogs were euthanized because they were judged to be severely aggressive, and another was put down because it had facial wounds that had become badly infected. Almost all the dogs had what authorities said were fresh wounds that were consistent with dogfighting. Tools commonly used in dogfighting operations, including heavy chains often tied around the necks of dogs to help them build strength, were found on the property, as were dogfighting manuals and bodybuilding supplements. Formal sentencing for Morris was set for Sept. 1.

Source: Times-Dispatch - Jul 13, 2010 Update posted on Jul 21, 2010 - 4:23PM

Richmond Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals had been down this road before with Richard E. Robinson, and she selected probation as his punishment. This time, she handed down one of the stiffest prison sentences ever imposed in the United States for dogfighting. Snukals yesterday ordered Robinson, 33, to spend 10 years behind bars for his convictions on three felonies and one misdemeanor related to a dogfighting operation at his South Richmond home. Snukals also ordered Robinson to pay a $2,500 fine and $4,008 in restitution to Richmond Animal Care & Control. It was a far different outcome than in May 2005, when Robinson was convicted in another dogfighting case. That time, Snukals gave him a five-year term but suspended all five years and ordered him instead to serve five years of supervised probation. Robinson was arrested again last June, 11 months before that probationary term was to have ended. Yesterday, Snukals shook her head as she said Robinson had failed to learn a lesson from his previous conviction -- or from the storm of publicity that followed the downfall of NFL star Michael Vick, also as a result of a dogfighting conviction in Virginia. "He had that information available to him between 2005 and today," Snukals said, "and neither of those events changed his behavior." On Dec. 16, a jury convicted Robinson on one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and recommended one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. The panel recommended three years in prison on each of three felony convictions: one count of dogfighting and two of animal fighting. In addition to imposing the jury's recommendations yesterday and ordering restitution, Snukals found Robinson in violation of the terms of his probation from the 2005 conviction. The judge reimposed the five-year prison term from that case but then re-suspended the term. The judge also prohibited Robinson from possessing or owning any companion animals for the rest of his life. The 10-year term -- authorities said no Virginia dogfighting case ever had produced a prison sentence longer than four years -- far exceeded the nationwide norm. "Two to five years is what we are typically seeing," said Randall Lockwood, senior vice president for anti-cruelty initiatives for The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Lockwood said there have been a few dogfighting cases in other states where prison sentences have stretched to 40 years, but those terms also included convictions for drugs and/or weapons. "Certainly the public concern about dogfighting has risen dramatically in the last two or three years," Lockwood, author of the book "Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence," said in a telephone interview. "In Virginia, the Michael Vick case was an eye-opener to dogfighting and what goes on in it," he said, "and I'm sure that was one driving force behind this sentence. Juries are more in tune to animal violence now." When Robinson was arrested in June, authorities recovered 12 dogs -- 11 of them pit bulls -- from the house he shared with his mother, Ardeller Morris, in the 2100 block of Wright Avenue. Nine of the dogs were euthanized because they were judged to be severely aggressive, and another was put down because it had facial wounds that had become badly infected. Almost all the dogs had what authorities said were fresh wounds that were consistent with dogfighting. Dogfighting manuals and bodybuilding supplements were found inside the house. Tools commonly used in dogfighting operations, including heavy chains often tied around the necks of dogs to help them build strength, were found outside in a rear area of the property that had become known as "Old School Kennels." Defense attorney Shannon Taylor asked Snukals to limit Robinson's prison term to four years. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jed Patterson, saying Robinson had ignored the seriousness of his previous conviction, urged the judge to follow the jury's recommendation. "He was well aware of the consequences and potential consequences of dogfighting," Patterson said. Morris, 61, was charged this month with 10 counts of felony dogfighting and 11 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. No trial date for her has been set.

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch - Mar 19, 2010 Update posted on Mar 19, 2010 - 3:47PM

A grand jury indicted Ardeller Morris, 61, on 10 counts of felony dogfighting and 11 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. She already faced one count of dogfighting. She and her son, Richard E. Robinson, both have been charged in connection with an alleged dogfighting operation at the home they shared in the 2100 block of Wright Avenue in South Richmond. Robinson was convicted in December of one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and three felony charges. A jury recommended he serve 10 years in prison. Formal sentencing is set for later this month.

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch - Mar 1, 2010 Update posted on Mar 8, 2010 - 1:56PM

After two hours of deliberations, a Richmond Circuit Court jury convicted Richard E. Robinson, 32, of one count of dogfighting and two counts of animal fighting, which are felonies, as well as one misdemeanor county of animal cruelty. The jury later recommended Robinson be fined $2,500 and serve 10 years behind bars. Formal sentencing was set for March 5. Ten of 12 dogs seized in June from the home Robinson shared with his mother on Wright Avenue had to be euthanized, authorities said. Of the 12 dogs, nine had scars or other signs of injuries, according to testimony yesterday. Authorities say they found exercise equipment, supplements used by bodybuilders and other evidence of dogfighting at the home in South Richmond. They also discovered dogs in heavy chains in kennels without water, according to testimony in August.

Source: Times-Dispatch - Dec 16, 2009 Update posted on Dec 24, 2009 - 10:20AM

A Richmond man was found guilty this afternoon of three felonies and one misdemeanor related to a dogfighting operation. After two hours of deliberations, a Richmond Circuit Court jury convicted Richard E. Robinson, 32, of one count of dogfighting and two counts of animal fighting, which are felonies, as well as one misdemeanor county of animal cruelty. The jury is deliberating a sentence this afternoon. He faces up to five years in prison on each charge. Ten of 12 dogs seized in June from the home Robinson shared with his mother on Wright Avenue had to be euthanized, authorities said. Of the 12 dogs, nine had scars or other signs of injuries, according to testimony yesterday. Authorities say they found exercise equipment, supplements used by bodybuilders and other evidence of dogfighting at the home in South Richmond. They also discovered dogs in heavy chains in kennels without water, according to testimony in August. For more on the story, see tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch - Dec 16, 2009 Update posted on Dec 16, 2009 - 3:30PM

A grand jury indicted a Richmond man yesterday on five felony charges involving dogfighting. Richard E. Robinson, 32, faces two counts of animal cruelty and one count each of dogfighting, promoting dogfighting and training dogs to fight, authorities said. Ten of 12 dogs seized in June from the home he shared with his mother on Wright Avenue in South Richmond had to be euthanized, authorities said. Authorities also found exercise equipment, medical supplies and other evidence of dogfighting at the home. They found dogs in heavy chains in kennels without water, and some of them were injured, according to testimony last month. Robinson's mother, Ardeller Morris, had faced several related charges, but prosecutors withdrew all of them last month. Robinson has prior convictions on dogfighting and cruelty charges in Richmond. His next court date is Oct. 13.

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch Sep 9, 2009 Update posted on Sep 11, 2009 - 2:00PM

Ten of the 12 dogs seized in June from a South Richmond home in a dogfighting case had to be put down. Several of the dogs were overly aggressive, Richmond authorities said yesterday, and one dog had such a bad infection on its face that its skin fell off from scratching. New homes were found for the two survivors. In addition to the dogs, authorities found exercise equipment, medical supplies and other evidence of dogfighting at the home of Richard E. Robinson, also known as "Lil Richard," and his mother, Ardeller Morris, according to testimony yesterday in Manchester General District Court. Robinson, 32, referred to his dogs as "Old School Kennel," said Richmond prosecutor Alex Taylor. A judge yesterday certified to a grand jury one felony count each of dogfighting and animal cruelty against Robinson. Prosecutors withdrew all charges against Morris, 60. "She's maintained her innocence from the beginning," Morris' attorney, George A. Townsend, said after the hearing. Robinson, who has prior convictions on dogfighting and cruelty charges in Richmond, also faces a felony dogfighting charge in Halifax County, N.C., authorities there confirmed yesterday. That charge stems from a Nov. 30 incident. A court hearing is set for Oct. 7 in Halifax. On June 16, authorities searched the Richmond home of Robinson and Morris in the 2100 block of Wright Avenue off Jefferson Davis Highway. They found dogs in heavy chains in kennels without water, and some of them were injured, according to testimony. Authorities said they discovered syringes scattered about the property, medications, scales, magazines about dogfighting and pedigree information. According to testimony, authorities found exercise equipment, including a hard, plastic "boomer ball" that dogs are encouraged to chase for exercise; a "spring pole," which can be used to hang dogs from a rope to strengthen their jaw muscles; and a device used to immobilize a dog for breeding. A Richmond Animal Control employee testified that Robinson visited an animal shelter where the dogs were held after being seized and tried to reclaim them. Robinson's attorney, Shannon Taylor, said she will file a motion in Richmond Circuit Court to suppress evidence seized in the search of the Wright Avenue property. "The probable cause was woefully inadequate," she said. Authorities have linked Robinson to a Henrico County man, Tracy Mark Tucker, 39. The two men, according to an affidavit for a search warrant, "were working together to traffic illegal drugs as well as participating in illegal organized dogfighting." Last month, a search of Tucker's property in the 1400 block of Elmshadow Drive off Osborne Turnpike turned up dogs, exercise equipment and other items, according to a police affidavit. But last week, authorities in Richmond withdrew a dogfighting charge against Tucker. As of July 22, Tucker was being held in federal custody on a firearms-possession charge. Efforts to update his status last night were unsuccessful. Next month, a grand jury will decide whether to indict Robinson on the dogfighting and cruelty charges..

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch - Aug 7, 2009 Update posted on Aug 7, 2009 - 5:53PM

A Richmond judge today certified today to a grand jury two felony charges against Richard E. Robinson, but prosecutors withdrew all charges against his mother, Ardeller Morris. The charges against Robinson are one count of dogfighting and one count of animal cruelty. Morris, 60, had faced three counts of animal cruelty and one count of promoting or allowing dogfighting. In June, authorities seized about a dozen dogs from their home in the 2100 block of Wright Avenue, off Jefferson Davis Highway.

Source: Richmond-Times Dispatch - Aug 6, 2009 Update posted on Aug 6, 2009 - 5:26PM

Richard Robinson was supposed to have a bond hearing today, but the case was continued until July. He will remain behind bars until then. The South Richmond man and his mother, Ardeller Morris, were arrested Friday at their home on Wright Avenue. Animal control officers also seized a dozen dogs. Both mother and son are due back in court on July 30th. Robinson remains behind bars, Morris is free on bond.

Source: CBS6 - Jun 22, 2009 Update posted on Jun 24, 2009 - 12:36PM

References

• 8 News - June 19, 2009

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