Dog fighting Charleston, SC (US) Incident Date: Saturday, Sep 6, 2003 County: Charleston Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Charges: Felony CTA Alleged: » Vincent Simmons » Michael Leon Jones » Marcus Simmons » Moultrie S. Sanders

Case ID: 1736 Classification: Fighting Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in SC (US) Login to Watch this Case

Charleston County Sheriff's deputies made four arrests after breaking up a dog fighting match early Saturday morning, sheriff's officials said.

Vincent Simmons, 21, of McClellanville, Michael Leon Jones, 21, of McClellanville, Marcus Simmons, 26, of McClellanville and Moultrie S. Sanders, 24, of Georgetown, were charged with felony dog fighting, sheriff's spokeswoman Capt. Dana Valentine said.

At about 1 a.m., three deputies and a trainee were on patrol when they stopped to investigate lights left on in a business on South Santee Road, Valentine said. As they were investigating, they noticed a crowd of about 20 to 25 people in the woods near Greater Mt. Zion Church across the street.

When the deputies went to investigate the crowd, they discovered a dog fight had just taken place and another one was about to start, Valentine said. The crowd scattered once the deputies arrived.

Vincent Simmons began fighting hard with Deputy Ryan O'Rear, 24, Valentine said. He broke away from O'Rear and then broke into a nearby home, where deputies found him hiding under a bed, Valentine said. He has been charged with first degree burglary and assaulting an officer as well as dog fighting.

Deputies recovered a female pit bull with several wounds.

The dog belongs to Marcus Simmons, but is now in the care of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Valentine said. The owner of the other dog fled with the animal.

Valentine encouraged anyone with information about dog fighting in the area to contact the sheriff's office. "We feel it happens more often than we're aware of," she said.

Vincent Simmons was denied bail in bond court Saturday. Marcus Simmons, Sanders and Jones each had bail set at $5,000.

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The Post and Courier

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