Photo Courtesy of ASPCA
Dog fighting “is animal cruelty in its most brutal form,” said DA Brown.
By Forum Staff
Two Brooklyn residents pled guilty to dog fighting charges and have been sentenced for their roles in keeping four pit bull dogs in cruel conditions preparing them to fight other canines. The animals were found in cages without food or water in December 2016. T
The caged dogs, had sctatches, bruises and were seriouly infected when they were found in cages in a Far Rockaway, garage rented by one of the defendants.
DA Richard Brown referred to dog fighting as a “blood sport” and went on to say, “It is animal cruelty in its most brutal form. The defendants in this case have now admitted to owning these animals and will be barred from further owning any pets in the immediate future. The male defendant is going to jail for his role and the female defendant will be under supervised probation for several years. No animal should be treated in such a vile manner. The dogs, fortunately, were rescued and the defendants punished for their actions.”
Davoughn Fitts, 29, of Dumont Avenue, and Cherise Mickens, 28, of Grafton Street in Brooklyn pled guilty to an agriculture and markets law related to owning, possessing and keeping a dog under circumstances with the intent to engage the dog in animal fighting before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron, who imposed a sentence of nine months in jail for defendant Fitts and three years’ probation for defendant Mickens.
Both defendants are banned from owning pets for five years and will be required to register with the New York City Department of Health as animal abusers. The animal abuser registration will prevent city shelters, rescue groups and/or pet stores from allowing the defendants to purchase or adopt a pet.
According to the criminal charges, police, executed a court authorized search warrant at a residence on Beach 65th Street in Far Rockaway, December 28, 2016, and found four pitbulls inside a garage in stacked cages and called in detectives from the Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad.
There was no food or water and all were underweight with their rib cage bones visible under their skin.
The dogs had scarring on their faces and bodies. All four dogs were taken into ASPCA custody and care at an ASPCA hospital and examined by a licensed veterinarian, who determined that all four dogs had extensive skin scars as a result of old dog bite wounds.
Two of the animals had more recent evidence of bite marks on their heads. The dogs were underweight and the injuries included teeth fractures, a broken claw, an ear flap injury, a gum tissue wound and at least two of the dogs had a red blood cell parasite that is usually transmitted from other dogs through bite wounds. DA Brown said, according to the complaints, the detective recovered a “slat mill” and two “break sticks” inside the garage where the animals were housed. A “slat mill” is an endless belt for dogs to run or walk on and is traditionally used by dog fighters to train animals.
A “break stick” is a device designed to be inserted into a dog’s molar in order to break the canine’s grip on another animal or object. The “break sticks” were observed to have blood smeared on them.
See editorial on page 6
