Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Dog-fighting - 17 dogs seized

Dog-fighting - 17 dogs seized
Chesapeake, VA (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Apr 7, 2006
County: Chesapeake City
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Charges: Felony CTA

Abusers/Suspects:
» Alfred Taylor
» Lisa Washington

Upcoming Court Dates:
» Monday, Oct 15, 2007: sentencing

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 8001

Classification: Fighting

Animal: dog (pit-bull)

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Police confiscated 17 pit bulls while looking for dogfighting paraphernalia at a home in Chesapeake.

Animal control office Brian Burda wrote on a search warrant filed in Circuit Court that two of the dogs had scars consistent with patterns for dogfighting. He also found a scale that appeared to be used to weigh dogs before dogfighting matches.

In addition to the dogs, officers confiscated the scales, medical supplies and equipment they described as being used to condition dogs for fighting. A source named in the warrant told police that the dogs were taken to North Carolina to fight and were shot if they didn't perform well.

So far, no one has been charged.

Case Updates

Lisa Washington was arrested on March 14, 2007 and extradicted to Virginia. According to court records, on July 19, 2007, she pled guilty to dog fighting, possession of marijuana, and manufacture/sale/possession of cocaine. A pre-sentence report has been ordered, and the matter has been continued to October 15, 2007.

Charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm by convicted felon, possession of a firearm with drugs, and conspiracy to commit dog fighting were all dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Alfred Charles Taylor was scheduled to be sentenced on August 9, 2007, but this matter was continued to October.

Source: Chesapeake Circuit Court
Update posted on Aug 17, 2007 - 2:10AM

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A 53-year-old man was convicted Monday of illegal dogfighting � nine months after Animal Control removed 17 pit bulls from the rural Chesapeake home he rented.

Alfred Taylor was convicted in Chesapeake Circuit Court during a one-day bench trial before Judge S. Bernard Goodwyn. Taylor, a former resident of the 2700 block of Seven Eleven Road, is to be sentenced for the felony in March.

A second charge of conspiracy was thrown out.

Taylor denied owning the dogs, 10 of which had signs of healed wounds. He denied knowledge that they were being trained to fight.

�I would never do that,� he testified.

Commonwealth�s Attorney Amy James, however, produced numerous pieces of evidence consistent with the training and fighting of the dogs. It included a surgical wound stapler, dogfighting literature, wound cream, injectable anti-inflammatory drugs, protein supplements, a spring rope, a scale and two break sticks, which are used to pry open the locked jaws of fighting dogs.

�There�s no other reason to have the dogs in this situation unless you are promoting or engaging in the fighting of dogs,� James sai d.

Kathy Strouse, Chesapeake animal control coordinator, testified that the dogs were removed from the backyard of the single-story house in late March. A specially rigged treadmill at the house, fish anti biotics and the underground magazine Sporting Dog Journal were all signs of dogfighting activity, Strouse said.

Taylor�s defense attorney, Andrew James, argued that there was never a confession by his client. There was not a single witness to his client�s alleged dogfighting, he said.

Dogfighting journals found at the house also could not be linked to Taylor, Andrew James argued.

�It�s a lot of speculation,� he said. �There�s some smoke, but there�s no fire here."

A second person, Lisa Washington, also was indicted on dogfighting and conspiracy to dogfight. Washington, a former girlfriend of Taylor�s who stayed at the Chesapeake home, is listed as a fugitive, according to court records.

Source: Hampton Roads - Dec 19, 2006
Update posted on Dec 20, 2006 - 12:54PM

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A Chesapeake Grand Jury has indicted two people for operating one of the largest dog fighting rings this city has seen in recent years. Alfred Taylor and Lisa Washington are both charged with felony dogfighting and conspiracy to commit dog fighting and Washington is charged with much, much more.

Back in March police were called to 2745 Seven Eleven Road in Southern Chesapeake to investigate an assault. But according to court paper the officers say much more. They soon returned with a search warrant and confiscated illegal drugs and equipment to train dogs to fight. Animal control officers confiscated 17 dogs."Two of them had scarring and there body condition was dull hair and coats, brittle hair some were mildly thin," said animal control coordinator, Kathy Strouse.

Neither Alfred Taylor or Lisa Washington were at home to respond to the long list of charges they're now facing. If found guilty Taylor and Washington are looking at as much as a decade behind bars.

As for the 17 dogs, their fate would be a lot worse. "If you come in and adopt one of these dogs and your next door neighbor has a little yorkie or a beagle and one of those dogs eats through the fence and kills the yorkie or beagle, it's not going to be good. And we don't feel it's an appropriate risk for any community," Strouse said.

In addition to the dog fighting charges, Washington is also facing marijuana and cocaine charges, as well as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Source: News Channel 3 - May 4, 2006
Update posted on May 9, 2006 - 10:00AM

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References

	WAVY - April 7, 2006
	- May 4, 2006
	- May 6, 2006

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Dog-fighting - 17 dogs seizedChesapeake, VA (US)

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Dog-fighting - 17 dogs seized
Chesapeake, VA (US)