According to the U .S. Department of Justice, the individuals accused of participating in organized dog fighting are:
Jermaine Terrell Hadley, 31, Quincy
Devar San Jacus Donaldson, 27, Quincy
Sariem Shanquell McMillan, 23, Quincy
Randell Lavel Colston, 47, Quincy
Bob Streets, 35, Quincy
Zanntayfey Yohoun Bennett, 35, Quincy
Dennis Lamar Howard, 45, Chattahoochee
Leonard Safford, 37, Gretna
Approximately 100 dogs were seized during the dogfighting raid, they are in the possession of the United States Marshals Service.
Miles Davis, an acting special agent in charge at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, commented about the ties between organized dogfighting and other criminal activity:
"These ventures as proven by this investigation entail other criminal activity involving drugs, firearms, and gambling," he said. "This investigation, in particular, proves how intertwined illegal dogfighting ventures are with these other serious crimes."
An undercover video released this week shows the ugly, violent nature of dog fights - the video was obtained in a wooded area near Tallahassee. Eric Mountin, an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Florida."It's not unusual for these things to go on for hours," Mountin added. "If you don’t see [it], you can’t fully appreciate the cruelty."
Watch the video here.
Everyone involved in this violent blood sport must be punished to the full extent of the law - please join us in asking for justice!
January 2021 - Eric K. Mountin, Assistant U.S. Attorney, sent the following email to Animal Victory on January 19:
Ms. Babington, thank you for your message; all of the charged defendants in the case have pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing hearings over the next several months, depending on any COVID limitations.
Update 8/22/2020: Two defendants have been sentenced. Leonard Safford has been sentenced to prison time. The defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a total term of Forty-Eight (48) months as to Counts One, Forty-Two through Forty-Six and Forty-Eight through Fifty, all to be served concurrently with each other. Upon release from imprisonment, Safford will be on supervised release for a term of three (3) years as to Counts One, Forty-Two through Forty-Six and Forty-Eight through Fifty, all to be served concurrently with each other.
Howard Dennis pleaded guilty to Title & Section Nature of Offense Ended Count, 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 49, 7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1) and
7 U.S.C. § 2156(b) Conspiracy to Exhibit Dogs in an Animal Fighting Venture and to Possess, Train, Transport and Deliver Dogs for Animal Fighting
Ventures. The defendant shall be placed on home detention with GPS location monitoring for six months of supervision. The location monitoring fee
will be paid for by the government. The defendant may leave the residence with the prior permission of the supervising officer for gainful
employment, education, medical care, religious services, or other similar purposes approved by the probation officer.
The six other defendants are set for trial in October and November. The courts and prisons have no-contact/COVID orders that are delaying the trials.
As this is is still ongoing, Eric K. Mountin, the Assistant U.S. Attorney, has told Animal Victory to keep sending signatures. Please continue to sign and share.
Update December 2019: The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida issued a news release about this dog-fighting operation; it states:
A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging three
men – including a Federal Bureau of Prisons employee – with 51 counts of federal dogfighting
offenses. The charges stem from an investigation into drug trafficking and a large- scale illegal
dogfighting operation involving over 100 dogs. The superseding indictment was announced by Lawrence
Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Most of the dogs used by the defendants were recovered by the United States Marshals Service and
have been placed with appropriate foster organizations.
The defendants named in this indictment are:
● Jermaine Terrell Hadley, 31, Quincy, Florida;
● Leonard Safford, 37, Gretna, Florida;
● Decarlise Chapman, 46, Marianna, Florida.
The superseding indictment adds Chapman, who is an employee of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as a
defendant in the case. Hadley and Stafford, among several other individuals, were named in the June
4, 2019, indictment in this case, but the other defendants have entered guilty pleas and therefore
are not included the superseding indictment.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/press-release/file/1224861/download
UPDATE: January 31, 2020
Our letter of intent to help influence the judge to impose the maximum sentence was sent to the prosecuting attorney along with over 10,500 signatures. Sentencing is set for February 3rd, 2020.
Read our letter here
UPDATE: February 3, 2020
We have been informed by the prosecuting attorney that the current trial date (February 3) was moved at request of the remaining (2) defendants. The new date is April 27th. Please continue to sign and share.
