Dog-fighting Ashburn, GA (US) Incident Date: Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 County: Turner Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: » Joe Burgess » Tino Burgess Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 5417 Classification: Fighting Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in GA (US) Login to Watch this Case

A Turner County commissioner has been arrested and charged with fighting dogs out of a popular Ashburn club, a move he says is payback for complaining about three police officers.

Joe Burgess was arrested on dogfighting warrants on Aug 12 as part of a large police bust that has resulted in at least four other arrests, including that of his son Tino Burgess.

Ashburn Police Chief Ben Sumner said that the warrants were issued after evidence was seized at the Traffic Light Club, a popular hang-out in Ashburn.

�The building has a closed-in back porch area where we found evidence of dogfighting,� Sumner said.

Joe Burgess, who owns the club, was arrested Aug 12 and later released on $15,000 bond. He says his arrest was retribution for a complaint he filed against three Ashburn police officers who were later suspended.

�They told me that they had a tape from June that shows people fighting dogs at the club,� Burgess said. �But I don�t know why they arrested me. I rent that property out.�

Burgess, who owns the property but rents it to another man who hasn�t been arrested, said he saw investigators photographing the scene and heard about the dogfighting just before his arrest, but that he himself had nothing to do with fighting dogs.

In Georgia, it�s a felony to fight dogs but it�s legal to be a spectator to a dog fight or to possess dog fighting materials.

The Traffic Light has been the scene of several violent incidents over the past year, prompting Sumner to ask local government officials to do something about it.

�I think it�s time that our local government leaders look at this place and determine if it�s a threat to the community,� Sumner said. �We had several injured including a state trooper that was seriously injured at a riot there last August, a teen from Tifton was shot there a few weeks ago and we�re constantly receiving calls out there.�

Burgess will be allowed to keep his seat as a Turner County Commissioner despite the arrest, but if he�s indicted by a grand jury the governor could choose to remove him from office.

Burgess said he plans to fight the arrest in court. �I�d be crazy to stand here and let them just run over me when I ain�t done nothing wrong,� he said.

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