Fourteenth and Final Defendant Convicted in Federal Dog Fighting Case

All 14 defendants in a large-scale federal dog fighting case indicted last year in Albany, Georgia, have now been convicted. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia has accepted the guilty pleas of the following defendants:

• Tamichael Elijah, 48, of Donalsonville, Georgia;
• Marvin Pulley, III, 53, of Donalsonville and Jakin, Georgia;
• Brandon Baker, 42, of Panama City, Florida;
• Christopher Travis Beaumont, 38, of Panama City, Florida;
• Herman Buggs, Jr., 57, of Donalsonville, Georgia;
• Terrance Davis, 46, of Pansey, Alabama;
• Timothy Freeman, 27, of Bainbridge, Georgia;
• Terelle Ganzy, 35, of Panama City, Florida;
• Gary Hopkins, 67, of Donalsonville, Georgia;
• Cornelious Johnson, 40, of Panama City, Florida;
• Rodrecus Kimble, 44, of Donalsonville, Georgia;
• Donnametric Miller, 42, of Donalsonville, Georgia;
• Willie Russell, 43, of Blakely, Georgia; and
• Fredricus White, 36, of Panama City, Florida.

According to court documents filed in this case, the defendants all converged on a property in Donalsonville, Georgia, on April 24, 2022, where they held a large-scale dog fighting event. The defendants and others brought a total of 24 pit bull-type dogs to be fought that weekend in a series of matches. Law enforcement personnel who disrupted the event found numerous dogs inside crates in cars on the property.

The participants used their cars to store dogs who had already been fought, as well as those whose handlers were awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Some dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued a total of 27 dogs, including one found in the pit with severe injuries and which died a shortly thereafter. Dogs in the cars also bore recent injuries and historical fighting scars.

Under federal law, it is illegal not only to fight dogs in a venture that affects interstate commerce, but also to possess, train, transport, deliver, sell, purchase or receive dogs for fighting purposes.

All defendants but Freeman pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to violate the animal fighting prohibition of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Defendants Beaumont and Miller also pleaded guilty to sponsoring or exhibiting (i.e., handling) a dog in a dog fight. Defendants Baker, Davis, Ganzy, Johnson, Pulley, and White further pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting a dog for purposes of using the dog in an animal fighting venture. Freeman pleaded guilty to spectating at an animal fight. Defendants Miller and Pulley also pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction.

Russell is set to be sentenced on Feb. 28. The court has not yet set sentencing dates for the other defendants. Each defendant faces maximum penalties of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count of animal fighting charges. Miller also faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the firearm charge, and Pulley faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on his firearm charge.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker for the Middle District of Georgia made the announcement.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General and detectives with the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Detectives with the Bay County, Florda, Sheriff’s Office also provided invaluable assistance.

Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy and Trial Attorney Leigh Rendé of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from Criminal Chief Leah McEwen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrill and Paralegal Kristi Cote for the Middle District of Georgia handled a parallel civil forfeiture proceeding to ensure that the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendants. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Florida and Middle District of Alabama also assisted with the dog rescue operation.