Two New Jersey residents were charged with participating in a dog fighting ring involving the “DMV Board,” a Telegram-based dog fighting collective spanning several states, according to officials.
Tommy J. “Snakes” Watson, of Clayton, and Johnnie Lee Nelson Jr., of Bridgeton, appeared in court on Monday’s charges.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Watson and Nelson conspired with others to fight, train, transport, and possess pit bull-type dogs in dog fighting ventures from August 2017 through March 2019, violating the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Watson and others conducted a dog-fighting operation called “From Da Bottom Kennels.”
They fought pit bull-type dogs in dog fights and housed and trained dogs for dog fighting. They acquired medical equipment, including skin staplers, without veterinarian assistance or scrutiny to treat dogs injured during fights.
Watson and others also used the “DMV Board” to transmit videos of live-streamed dog fights, dogs training to fight, and underperforming fighting dogs being killed, including by hanging.
Watson fought two dogs, including one named “Bunz,” in a December 2018 dog fight at Center Road in Upper Deerfield Township, New Jersey.
Watson also trained and transported a third dog, named “Rambo,” for a dog fight event at the exact location on March 23, 2019, which law enforcement disrupted.
Law enforcement officers at the Center Road location found two still-fighting dogs inside a car where participants had hidden the dogs before running away to evade capture.
Nelson trained “Rambo” to have him fight at the Center Road location in the March 23, 2019, dog fight event. Watson is also charged with unlawful possession of ammunition that he brought to the dog fight event.
If convicted of the charges, Watson and Nelson each face penalties of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count of animal fighting charges. Watson also faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the ammunition charge.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and detectives with the Cumberland County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the case, which remains ongoing.
Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O’Leary and Desiree Grace for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.