41 dogs used for fighting, removed from home Blanchester, OH (US) Incident Date: Thursday, Jun 16, 1988 County: Clinton Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Kenneth Gaines

Case ID: 8594 Classification: Fighting Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in OH (US) Drugs or alcohol involved Login to Watch this Case

On June 16, 1988, members of the Clinton County and Clermont County Sheriff's Departments executed a search warrant at the Clinton County residence and surrounding land of defendant-appellant, Kenneth Gaines. Pursuant to the warrant, police seized forty-one dogs and nearly two hundred items of personal property including $ 5,851 in cash, firearms, dog cages and training equipment, dogfighting paraphernalia and drug paraphernalia.

On June 24, 1988, a Clinton County Grand Jury indicted appellant on three counts of dogfighting in violation of R.C. 959.16, two counts of trafficking in marijuana contrary to R.C. 2925.03, and one count of possession of criminal tools in violation of R.C. 2923.24. Appellant was likewise charged by federal authorities with several violations of federal drug laws pertaining to marijuana.

Nine months later, appellant, having already pleaded guilty to the federal marijuana charges, entered a plea bargain whereby he agreed to plead guilty to two counts of dogfighting and accepted a forfeiture of the cash and any other personal property related to illegal dogfighting in exchange for the state's agreement to dismiss the remaining charges.

The trial court, after conducting a thorough examination of appellant to determine that he was knowingly and intelligently entering his plea, accepted the plea and found appellant guilty of two charges of dogfighting. Following a presentence investigation, the court sentenced appellant to one and one-half years' imprisonment, suspended this sentence, and ordered appellant to serve sixty days in the county jail, to be served concurrently with appellant's federal prison term. The court also sentenced appellant to three years' probation, ordered a forfeiture of all items of property related to illegal dogfighting, and returned all remaining items of a personal nature.

Defendant pleaded guilty to two charges of dogfighting, and forfeiture of various items was ordered by the Court of Common Pleas, Clinton County. Defendant appealed, arguing that the dogfighting statute is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and that the statute violates defendant's equal protection rights and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Finally, the defendant appealed the court mandated forfeiture of cash and other items. The Court of Appeals ruled that: (1) dogfighting statute was not unconstitutionally vague or overbroad; (2) statute did not violate equal protection or constitute cruel and unusual punishment on ground that violation constitutes fourth-degree felony while violation of statute prohibiting other animal fights is only a fourth-degree misdemeanor; and (3) despite guilty plea, forfeiture of cash and other items was erroneous absent establishment of direct connection with defendant's illegal dogfighting activities.
Affirmed in part and reversed in part.

Finally, given that over two hundred separate items were seized from appellant's home, the trial court should determine which items specifically have "anything to do with the illegal fighting of dogs." Otherwise, the state could accept a plea bargain from a criminal defendant and as leverage order a forfeiture of the accused's automobile, home or any other property completely unrelated to the crime. Such action would serve no legitimate state purpose and would constitute the exercise of a property disposition statute in an arbitrary, discriminatory, capricious or unreasonable manner. Lilliock, supra.

We accordingly sustain appellant's second assignment of error and remand the case at bar for a determination of which items seized during the June 16, 1988 search had "anything to do with the illegal fighting of dogs."

The judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part.

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References

State vs Gaines - 1990

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