Dog-fighting - 100 dogs seized from 30 locations
Albany, GA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Apr 24, 2010
County: Dougherty
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Dimitri Jackson
» Corey Culbreath
» William Burns
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
11 people are in jail and charged in connection with a dog fighting operation in Dougherty County. Federal and state agents raided a home Saturday where more than 30 dogs were seized. WALB was there shortly after the bust went down.
Animal Control officials rescued several small Pit Bulls from a home on Dower Avenue. One walked right up to us on the street. It had no tags and no collar. Animal Control picked it up. At this moment, WALB has no confirmation if it's connected to the investigation.
DNR, K-9 Units, and Dougherty County Police assisted GBI officials in their search for suspects who ran from officials.
"I was coming home from work and saw all the commotion and saw all the helicopters flying over and I really don't know what happened," said Melissa Ford who lives on the same street.
Ford says she hardly sees people at the home where agents with ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) and GBI stationed mobile command units.
"Yeah it's been empty for a long time, then all the sudden vehicles started showing up over there. You just don't ever see anybody," Ford added.
Police packed two vans full with suspects. They arrested 10 men and one woman -all charged with dog fighting. 32 dogs were in the house. Two had injuries that we know about.
"I figured they were still looking for somebody and it worries me if someone is still out there on the loose," Ford noted.
Neighbors say they heard dogs barking in the backyard but didn't think anything of it. As small children left the house with relatives, investigators continue to try and fit the pieces together.
Right now authorities aren't saying much about the investigation. As of Sunday afternoon, the two suspects who ran from the home remain on the loose.
Case UpdatesGBI Agents say they are amazed by the size and organization of a dog fighting ring uncovered during a raid April 24th in Dougherty County.
They've seized almost 100 dogs, and the investigation continues. The GBI took arrest warrants for the suspected ringleader of the dog fight.
13 people are under arrest and being held without bail for dog fighting. Two men escaped from Saturday's raid. The GBI thinks one of them is Demitri Jackson of Albany, and they took arrest warrants for him for dog fighting this afternoon. Saturday's raid has led to many more dogs being seized.
About 11 Monday morning Albany Police Animal Controls Agents found 23 pit bulls in the backyard of this home in the 700 block of West Second Avenue. Two of the dogs were injured.
Albany Animal Control Agent Kim Davis said "You see she has several on her face. If you look up under her neck she has a wound. Can you see? That's a bite wound, both on the right side of her face. She is about 6 to 8 months, female pit bull."
Agents went to the home because they knew the dog's care taker, Corey Culbreath, was an associate of one of the men arrested in Saturday's dog fight raid. Agents seized the dogs because they were being held with heavy metal chains in filthy conditions and no water.
They were taken to the Albany Humane Society, to join the 32 other pit bulls seized in Saturday night's raid. The GBI says 58 other dogs have been seized at 30 other locations across Dougherty and Worth Counties, as their investigation continues. 13 people, 12 men and one woman were arrested at the dog fight behind a home on Dower Avenue.
GBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Lewis said "When we arrived there were two dogs in the pit, fighting. Officers had to break them up, break it off. It was about to kill the other. It was a large ten by ten pen. It was blood soaked and obviously had been used a great deal."
Investigators say this dog fight was very organized.
Dougherty D.A. Greg Edwards said "The description of the pit, it was portable. So that indicated that this situation was one that was moving around in our county."
Children were at the home where the dog fight occurred, close to other homes in a suburban neighborhood.
Dougherty County Police Chief Don Cheek said "This is a tremendously horrific offense, for people to fight dogs like this. Plus the danger of everything else that goes along with it. But this one was not out in the middle of nowhere. It was in the middle of a neighborhood."
Federal, state, and local police continue to investigate Saturday's dog fight, and GBI Agents say more arrests are expected, and it could be many more arrests.
The GBI took arrest warrants for Dimitri Jackson late Monday afternoon. They think say he is one of the men who escaped Saturday night, and think he was the ringleader. Agents say they only found about one thousand dollars in the raid, and they suspect Jackson took most of the money being bet with him.
It is against Georgia law even to be a spectator at a dog fight, and the D.A. says he will prosecute anyone caught at a dog fight.
If you have any information about Jackson or dog fighting, call the Dougherty County Police at 430-6600. | Source: WALB - May 3, 2010
Update posted on Jul 22, 2010 - 2:10PM |
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