An Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Office deputy was among six people arrested for allegedly participating in an illegal dogfight Tuesday afternoon, the Orleans Levee District Police said.
Deputy Shantrice Hookfin, age unavailable, has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of a criminal and internal investigation by the Sheriff's Office, said Capt. Craig Boudreaux, Levee District Police spokesman.�
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The fight was discovered by two levee officers as they were taking the Little Woods exit from Interstate 10. From the ramp, the officers said they saw several people in a back yard conducting dogfights.
The officers called for backup and, as they stepped toward the house at 14180 Kingswood Drive, an unidentified woman jumped from a nearby car and ran to the front door to alert the participants, police said.
Participants scattered. Officers were able to catch several suspects, but two men escaped, police said.
Boudreaux said the men who escaped ran through the neighborhood wearing shirts covered in dog blood.
"We had blood on the floor in the garage," Boudreaux said. "We think it was a training exercise. They were using one dog as a training tool" to teach another dog how to fight.
Three adult dogs, a puppy and a bottle of penicillin labeled for "animal use only," including a syringe filled with the drug, were found at the home, Levee Police said.
With some dogfight purses reaching $50,000, "it's a very profitable game," said Laura Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "People are into it. I think people will do it as long as there is money in it."
In addition to Hookfin's arrest, police also arrested her brother, Jerry Hookfin, 22, of 14180 Kingswood Drive.
According to reports, Jerry Hookfin Jr. and Jerome Collette were fighting the pit bulls while four others -- Glenn Burke, Disodado Penalver, James Harvey and Larry Nicholas -- watched.
Two women, Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Deputy Shauntresse Hookfin and Shatonda Hookfin, allegedly warned the men that police were on their way.�
All were booked with illegal dogfighting and cruelty to animals.
The SPCA took the dogs from the property. Two were euthanized because there was evidence that they had been used in dogfighting and would be unfit for adoption, Maloney said. Case UpdatesCriminal District Court Judge Julian Parker dismissed charges against Shatonda Hookfin and Shauntresse Hookfin. The charges included being a principal to dog fighting, being an accessory after the fact, obstruction of justice and disturbing the peace. Shauntresse Hookfin was charged with malfeasance in office.
Jerry Hookfin Jr. and Collette pleaded guilty and received felony sentences of one year of active probation, a $900 fine, 100 hours community service, and one year of suspended jail time. Burke, Harvey, Nicholas and Penalver also pleaded guilty and received 90 days of probation and 100 hours of community service or a $500 fine. All of those convicted may expunge their records after serving their sentence and paying a $125 fee.
"The punishment does not fit the crime," said Laura Maloney, director of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "If records are expunged and these individuals are caught again, they will be considered first-time offenders." Three adult pit bulls seized in the raid were euthanized because they could not be rehabilitated as pets and were considered dangerous.
The sentences were issued on Feb 17, 2005. | Source: WDSU via Yahoo News - Feb 18, 2005
Update posted on Feb 20, 2005 - 12:52PM |
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