After eluding authorities for two years, a greyhound kennel owner accused of sending washed-up racing dogs to be destroyed on a Lillian farm has been located in the Baldwin County jail.
Clarence Ray Patterson, 61, of Pensacola, is considered by investigators as the key figure in a case that includes three other defendants from Florida: John Wilson "Willie" Smith, Ursula O'Donnell and Paul Discolo Jr.
Lawyers asked Baldwin County Circuit Judge Robert Wilters in April to dismiss animal-cruelty charges against their clients based on lack of admissible evidence. They argued that all evidence against their clients came either from the man who actually killed the dogs, Robert L. Rhodes, who died last year, or from Patterson, who was missing.
Wilters has not ruled on the motions.
Yet, it appears that Patterson has been in custody since before that hearing. Officials at the Baldwin County Corrections Center in Bay Minette said Patterson has been jailed there since March, when Mobile County authorities transferred him.
It was unclear Tuesday why Mobile County authorities originally arrested him.
Whetstone said he did not find out that Patterson was in custody until June 18, when he was due to be arraigned on the charges, two counts of felony cruelty to animals. Patterson pleaded innocent to the charges through a written waiver of that arraignment.
Patterson remained jailed Tuesday on $7,500 bond. Whetstone said he requested that Patterson be held without bond pending a hearing, which has not been set.
Whetstone said Patterson's presence significantly improves the state's case against the other three defendants. He had argued that Patterson's previous statements to investigators should be admissible under an exception to hearsay rules, but acknowledged it would have been an uphill battle.
"With him being present, we may be able to go forward with those cases," he said. "It would be great to have a live witness."
Authorities from Alabama and Florida have been investigating what happens to past-their-prime greyhounds at Pensacola Greyhound Track and other parks since they discovered Rhodes' operation in May 2002.
Rhodes admitted killing between 2,000 and 3,000 dogs over a 40-year period. He characterized his role as offering a cheaper alternative to legal euthanasia.
News of the case outraged animal lovers across the country. Rhodes was charged with cruelty to animals, but died of natural causes before trial.
Investigators traced the dogs at Rhodes' southeastern Baldwin community to Patterson, who owned a kennel at Pensacola Greyhound Track. Patterson fingered several other kennel owners and trainers.
"He was the go-between," Whetstone said. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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