Dog-fighting - 5 dogs seized, 1 found dead Saint George, SC (US) Incident Date: Saturday, Nov 30, 2002 County: Dorchester Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Charges: Felony CTA Abuser/Suspect: Christopher D. Simmons

Case ID: 7685 Classification: Fighting Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in SC (US) Drugs or alcohol involved Login to Watch this Case

A Dorchester County drug dealer and dogfighter who authorities said needed "to be removed from society" pleaded guilty Monday, March 13, 2006 to a string of charges.

Christopher D. Simmons, 26, is an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institute in Estill serving a drug sentence of 20 years.

According to police, the state charges date to December 2002 when Simmons sold crack cocaine to an informant working with Summerville and Dorchester County authorities.

Three additional cocaine and marijuana charges followed, including dealing drugs within the vicinity of a school.

The animal cruelty charges surfaced when a deputy found five pit bulls chained behind Simmons' residence. A sixth dog was found dead. The animals had injuries consistent with dogfighting, authorities said.

A spokesman for state Attorney General Henry McMaster said Simmons took a dangerous path early in his life.

"Someone this involved with this many types of crimes needs to be removed from society," spokesman Mark Plowden said.

Simmons was prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office as part of its Dog Fighting Task Force.

Circuit Judge Lee S. Alford sentenced Simmons to 16 years in jail, with the sentences for all five state offenses to run concurrently.

The federal and state sentences also will be served at the same time.

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

The Post and Courier

« SC State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.