Attorneys/Judges
| Defense(s): | Robert E. Walker Jr. | | Judge(s): | Thomas N. Nance |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #16473 Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Dog-fighting - 21 dogs seized
Richmond, VA (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jan 15, 2010
County: Richmond City
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Deano Alphonso Jones
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A grand jury handed down an indictment this morning in a case involving a possible dog fighting operation in North Richmond.
Deano Alphonso Jones is facing 21 counts of animal cruelty and 21 counts of dogfighting.
He's accused of running the operation out of a home on North 23rd Street.
Animal control officers say they began investigating after getting a tip in mid-January.
They say they found 21 dogs on the property, most of them were pit bulls, some were a pit bull mix.
The program manager for Richmond animal control says the agency was able to adopt out a few of the dogs, but most were euthanized for health and behavorial problems.
"If you're going to fight dogs in the city of Richmond we're going to pursue it. And we're going to pursue it aggressively. It's not an activity that any of the residents want. And we're going to make sure we do everything we can to try to eliminate it from the City of Richmond," said Mark Wachner.
Investigators say Jones has a previous animal cruelty conviction from a dog fighting case in North Carolina.
Case UpdatesA Richmond man described by defense witnesses as an animal lover will serve three years in prison for a dogfighting conviction.
Substitute Judge Thomas N. Nance yesterday sentenced Deano A. Jones, 47, to five years in prison, with two of those years suspended, on a dogfighting charge.
The judge sentenced Jones to five years on each of two counts of animal cruelty but suspended all of that time. The hearing was held in Richmond Circuit Court.
Jones had entered an Alford plea to the dogfighting charge, meaning he does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him. He pleaded guilty to the two counts of animal cruelty.
Authorities seized 21 pit bulls from Jones' home in the 1700 block of North 23rd Street. Eighteen of the animals needed emergency care, according to testimony yesterday. Seventeen had to be euthanized.
Authorities also recovered a treadmill, steroids and other materials associated with dogfighting, said Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring.
Jones testified yesterday that he was not engaged in dogfighting. "I love my dogs," he said during the hearing. "I love just dogs in general."
Defense attorney Robert E. Walker Jr. suggested that Jones' dogs injured one another in scuffles when they escaped from their pens.
Walker characterized his client as an animal lover who fell on hard times when he lost his job and a previous home. The setbacks left Jones unable to afford to take his pets to the veterinarian, Walker said.
"The dogs were his family," Walker said. "You don't kick family out on the street because you don't have money."
Defense witness Candace Foxx said Jones treated his dogs like children. "He should have been a veterinarian," Foxx said.
Later, the judge declared, "He is not an animal lover."
Jones has a misdemeanor animal-cruelty conviction in North Carolina, Herring said.
Herring acknowledged that the defendant was articulate and did not seem like a predator but added, "one has to conclude that Mr. Jones has been cruel to his animals." | Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch - Aug 9, 2010
Update posted on Aug 10, 2010 - 1:29AM |
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