Georgia man sentenced to 475 years for underground dogfighting ring

A Georgia antheral has been sentenced to astir 500 years successful situation aft authorities rescued much than 100 malnourished pit bulls tied to trees and metallic posts successful his backyard successful a dogfighting ringing bust.

Vincent Lemark Burrell, 57, was sentenced to 475 years past week, much than 2 years aft authorities raided his Dallas, Ga., spot and discovered the disturbing scene.

“Everywhere you looked, you couldn’t instrumentality a measurement successful immoderate 1 absorption without determination being another pit bull staked retired connected a chain,” Paulding County Assistant District Attorney K.C. Pagnotta said, adding it is believed to beryllium the longest specified condemnation successful U.S. past for this crime.

“And the intent of doing that is canine fighting,” the authoritative continued. “They volition enactment the pit bull retired connected a chain, and they abstraction each canine retired capable that they tin spot each other. They tin agitate each other, but they can’t really get to 1 another. And it’s portion of the gathering of aggression that they utilized to bid warring dogs.”

Burrell was recovered blameworthy of 103 counts, including 93 counts of dogfighting and 10 counts of cruelty to animals, pursuing a four-day trial, the Paulding District Attorney’s Office announced connected Jan. 30.

The country astatine Burrell’s location came to airy successful November 2022, erstwhile an Amazon transportation operator saw aggregate dogs tied up portion dropping disconnected a package.

Police recovered 107 dogs, who were underweight oregon precise underweight, without entree to nutrient oregon water. The canines were wearing heavy collars attached to dense logging chains that were secured to trees and metallic stakes successful the ground.

Venturing wrong the house, constabulary recovered an arsenic horrific scene.

“Some of the dogs were housed successful the basement of the location wherever the beingness (along with the odor) of urine and feces was truthful strong, authorities had to wear protective equipment conscionable to beryllium capable safely participate the home,” according to a property merchandise from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. “Conditions wherever dogs were being housed, some wrong and connected the exterior of this property, were not acceptable for humans, overmuch little dogs.”

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During their search, officers besides recovered cogwheel and documents linking Burrell to a dogfighting operation. They recovered a breeding stand, a canine treadmill and a instrumentality called a interruption stick, utilized to unit unfastened a dog’s rima during a fight. There was a unrecorded chickenhearted that was utilized to tempt the dogs, a veterinary kit to dainty dogs wounded successful a combat and papers linking Burrell to known dogfighters.

On the aforesaid time arsenic the search, an introspection of immoderate of the dogs by a veterinarian confirmed the dogs had scarring patterns accordant with dogfighting and rashes astir their necks, and respective were missing teeth, suggesting they had been forcibly removed from their mouths.

“Let this beryllium a clear message that Paulding County volition not judge oregon condone the inhumane attraction of animals — particularly the unit and maltreatment associated with canine fighting,” Pagnotta said.

“Justice was served contiguous for the voiceless. This benignant of enactment volition not beryllium tolerated successful Paulding County,” Sheriff Ashley Henson said.