Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Dog-fighting - 5 dogs seized

Dog-fighting - 5 dogs seized
Charlottesville, VA (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Jan 1, 2005
County: Charlottesville City
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Charges: Felony CTA
Case Images: 3 files available

Abuser/Suspect: Davey Richard Mundie

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 3526

Classification: Fighting

Animal: dog (pit-bull)

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Albemarle County police arrested a man and rescued five pit bulls�in what they believe to be a dog-fighting ring.

Sgt. Pam Greenwood said officers responded to a complaint around 7 p.m. that there were 13 dogs fighting at 2591 Pea Ridge Road and that people were placing bets.

When police arrived they found a �make-shift arena� behind the house with a spotlight hooked up to a tree and a boom box for music. There was no one on the property but four dogs and one puppy were found chained.

�One dog was mobile but he was bleeding profusely from the head. I gave him water and the entire bowl filled up with blood,� Greenwood said. �Another dog was so injured he couldn�t even lift his head to look at us. He couldn�t walk.�

Police arrested Davey Mundie, 27, at the residence. They believe he owns the pit bulls.

The dogs were taken to the Emergency Veterinarians Office to be evaluated and treated. Afterwards, four of the dogs were taken to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA. One was still receiving treatment.

�The veterinarian said there were scars on the dogs that looked like old dog bites,� Greenwood said. �That leads us to believe that there may have been these types of fights before.�

Mundie has been charged with felony organized dog fighting and animal neglect, a misdemeanor. If convicted on both counts he could face a maximum penalty of six years in prison, Greenwood said.

He was released on bond from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail on Saturday night. His preliminary hearing was expected to take place in General District Court this morning.

So far no other arrests have been made. Greenwood said the investigation is ongoing.

Case Updates

The first man to be convicted of running a dog-fighting ring in Albemarle County was ordered Monday to serve a year and a half behind bars.

Davey Mundie, 28, of Pea Ridge Road in the White Hall area, must also pay $7,500 in restitution to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, where more than a dozen dogs were taken after police found the dog-fighting arena.

Mundie was convicted in April of organizing a pit bull fight in a wooded area near his house.

A neighbor called police Jan. 1 after she saw Mundie and another man hold chains connected to two sparring pit bulls for about 15 minutes inside a clearing in the woods. Music was playing and the ring was electrically lit, with an extension cord running from the ring to Mundie�s house, she said.

Police, who are rarely able to find such fights, said people were placing bets on the Mundie dog fight, including Mundie, who tried to collect $40 after the contest.

One officer said he found a blood-covered stick, similar to those used to separate dogs locked in battle.

One dog was bleeding from the head and others bore scars that appeared to have been from previous fights, police said.

Mundie, who has been in jail since his trial, must be on good behavior for 10 years and will be placed on probation for two years after his release from prison.

�Dog fighting is a despicable crime, and the commonwealth hopes that this outcome sends a message to others in Albemarle County and Central Virginia about how this type of activity will be dealt with,� Commonwealth�s Attorney Jim Camblos said in a written statement.

Three years and six months were suspended from Mundie�s five-year sentence, the maximum punishment for promoting dog fighting.

The law, passed in 2003, was sponsored by Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, as a measure to get tough on organized dog fights.

Camblos agreed to drop a remaining misdemeanor animal cruelty charge against Mundie.

Source: Daily Progress - Sept 20, 2005
Update posted on Sep 23, 2005 - 12:15AM

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Judge Daniel Bouton convicted Davey Richard Mundie, of Pea Ridge Road in the White Hall area, on the dog-fighting charge on April 20. He was the first person to be found guilty of the felony crime in Albemarle County. The law was passed in 2003 and sponsored by Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, as a measure to get tough on organized dog fighting.

�I�m very pleased with the result,� Commonwealth�s Attorney Jim Camblos said after the trial. �It�s one of those crimes that just makes you very, very angry.�

A sentencing hearing is set for July 5, and Mundie could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the felony conviction. A misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals against Mundie also will be addressed at the July hearing.

Testimony by county police officers on Wednesday described a circular clearing in the woods near Mundie�s house complete with electric lighting and a boom box that played music during pit bull bouts. Officers who responded to the area Jan. 1 testified that they found five pit bulls chained up and living in turned-over barrels. Authorities said two of the dogs were injured, and described seeing a bloody pit bull drinking from a bowl.

�The water became red as the blood was dripping off the dog into the water bowl,� county police Officer Darrell Byers testified.

Norma Lively, Mundie�s neighbor on Pea Ridge Road, testified that she called police around 7 p.m. after watching two pit bulls spar for about 15 minutes while Mundie and another man each held one of the dogs by a chain. Music was playing and the ring was electrically lit, with an extension cord running from Mundie�s house, according to testimony.

�I was upset,� Lively recalled.

Mundie walked outside his house shortly after Byers and Officer Mike Easton arrived at the dog-fighting ring.

�Mr. Mundie was extremely agitated. He was flailing his arms around,� Byers testified. �Then he put his arms behind his back and said, �Go ahead, arrest me.��

Mundie later told an animal control officer �not to put the dogs together in the truck because they would kill one another,� Byers testified.

He also told police that the dogs were worth $15,000 and that he owned one and was caretaker of all five pit bulls, Easton said.

Mundie�s lawyer, Tom James, argued Wednesday that Camblos had not proven that the defendant encouraged the pit bulls to fight.

�A chained dog is not prejudicial to the owner � it�s not against the law,� James said in his closing argument. �There�s no evidence that he, Mr. Mundie, provoked the fight. All you have is that two people were holding the chain.�

When Judge Bouton directed Camblos to give his closing argument, the prosecutor replied: �I really don�t think I need to. This is abhorrent behavior.�

Staff members and a volunteer from the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, where the five dogs are being held, attended Wednesday�s hearing. �People need to understand that dog fighting is a crime,� SPCA volunteer Jan Cubbage said. �The pictures that we saw of these dogs, it�s just � it�s just very sad.�

Camblos said it was unclear where the dogs would end up, but he vowed to do all he could to ensure they are not returned to Mundie.

Camblos fought hard in court to have Mundie�s bond revoked, describing the defendant as �a person that�s out-of-control in that neighborhood� and suggesting that Mundie posed a threat to Lively and her husband, George, because they reported him to police. To underscore his point, Camblos called to the witness stand George Lively, who said he considered it a threat when Mundie cursed loudly outside his house one day, even though Lively admitted Mundie never threatened him directly.

Camblos succeeded in getting Mundie�s bond revoked.

Source: The Daily Progress - April 21, 2005
Update posted on Apr 21, 2005 - 8:53AM

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Davey Mundie was arrested in an alleged dog-fighting ring will face a grand jury, a judge decided.

Davey Mundie, 27, could face up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine if convicted of felony organized dog fighting. He was arrested Jan. 1, after police discovered four adult pit bulls and a puppy tied up near what appeared to be a dog-fighting arena.

The dogs are living at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and have been treated by a local veterinarian. County police said the veterinarian found scars on the dogs that looked like old bites from previous battles.

Officer Mike Easton testified he figured he missed a brawl by about five or 10 minutes when he arrived at a residence in the Whitehall area for a report of a dogfight. One of the animals bled from his ear and left side of the head into a bowl of water that the officers provided, he said.

A witness said Mundie attempted to collect $40 after the fight, Easton testified, and when authorities questioned him, Mundie insisted another of the bleeding dogs would be all right.

In a wooded area near Mundie�s residence,Easton said, police found a 20- to 30-foot circular clearing illuminated by spotlights. Next to a tree, he said, was a radio.

Easton said police confiscated a long, blood-covered stick, similar to those used to separate dogs locked in battle.

Mundie�s stepfather and mother, whom police questioned at the scene, said the dogs belonged to Mundie, according to Easton, and Mundie told authorities he was their caretaker.

Each dog was chained to a spike in the ground near barrels that were meant to provide shelter for the animals, Easton said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked that, if convicted, Mundie not only serve time behind bars, but undergo psychological evaluation and be banned from all contact with animals.

In a letter to Commonwealth�s Attorney Jim Camblos, PETA cruelty caseworker Daniel Paden wrote that �mental health professionals and top law-enforcement officials consider all forms of cruelty to animals to be a red flag,� and that animal cruelty points to certain conduct disorders.

Judge William G. Barkley certified the felony, sending the case to a grand jury, scheduled to convene April 4.

Source: Daily Progress
Update posted on Feb 25, 2005 - 7:25PM

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The Daily Progress - Jan 3, 2005

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Dog-fighting - 5 dogs seizedCharlottesville, VA (US)

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Dog-fighting - 5 dogs seized
Charlottesville, VA (US)