Burglary call leads deputies to dog fighting operation
Bishopville, SC (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Nov 13, 2011
County: Lee

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Keatrell Chestnut

A dozen pit bulls are off Lee County streets after deputies say they uncovered a dog fighting outfit Sunday. Investigators say the dogs were kept behind a mobile home on Browntown Road near Interstate 20.

Lee County deputies were out looking for stolen farm equipment Sunday when they stumbled onto a dog fighting outfit. Deputies got a call about a truck parked behind a farmer's shed, and the sheriff happened to see the suspect's truck on his way to church when this entire case unfolded.

It wasn't hard for deputies to spot the truck Sunday morning after a 911 caller spotted it behind a farmer's shed. The caller described the truck in detail, down to the engine lift sticking up out of the bed of it.

"If it hadn't been for that citizen giving us that initial tip, we wouldn't have anything today," said Major J.D. Dellinger.

Minutes after the call, the sheriff saw the truck heading down the Bethune highway. He pulled it over and called Dellinger to interrogate the five men inside. "We spoke to all the individuals and they said that they were in the area and they were going fishing," said Dellinger. "I raised the question that they didn't have any fishing gear in the truck with them, and they kind of evaded the questions. They they were going to get the fishing equipment."

Dellinger says he headed over to the home of one of the men, Keatrell Chestnut, to investigate. Investigators spotted what they were looking for right away. "We could clearly see some of the stolen property in his yard, and that's when we obtained a search warrant for the stolen property and located the ill-treated dogs," said Dellinger.

The dogs, 12 in all, were full-blooded pit bull dogs. Investigators also found dog fighting training equipment, like a treadmill used to keep the dogs in shape.

Deputies found two John Deere tractor engine blocks and a tractor wheel with the shipping label still attached and the burglary victim's name all over it. If not for the 911 call, deputies say they may never have solved this case, or saved these dogs.

"Call 911 and let them look into it," said Dellinger. "That may be the small piece, as in this case, just opens the case wide open."

All five men charged in the case are in jail awaiting bond hearings. The dogs are in safe-keeping until a judge decides what to do with them.

References

• « SC State Animal Cruelty Map
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