A federal grand jury indicted an Alabama man on charges of illegally possessing dogs for fighting purposes and illegally possessing three firearms after a felony conviction, officials announced Wednesday.
The indictment was unsealed in conjunction with the arrest Wednesday of Carlton Lenard Adams, 51, of Bessemer and Adger.
According to court documents filed in this case, Adams maintained 78 fighting dogs at three properties—two in Bessemer and one in Adger—and federal authorities rescued all of them.
Agents also recovered tools and supplies used in the training and keeping of dogs used for fighting.
This included modified treadmills to hold dogs in place for dog fight conditioning, injectable veterinary steroids, suture materials and syringes, skin staplers, a homemade breeding stand used to immobilize female dogs who are too aggressive to mate naturally, and a break stick device used to break a dog’s bite hold during specified intervals in a dog fight.
The defendant was further found to possess two pistols and a semi-automatic shotgun, known colloquially as a “Street Sweeper.”
Officials state that the latter is considered a firearm and a “destructive device” under federal law.
The dogs were rescued and cared for by a program administered by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Following a separate, successful civil forfeiture action brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendant. Still, they could be rehabilitated and evaluated for possible adoption.
If convicted, Adams faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each firearms charge. He also faces a maximum penalty of five years and a $250,000 fine per count of animal fighting charges.
Under federal law, fighting animals and possessing, transporting, delivering, receiving, buying, or selling animals intended for use in an animal-fighting venture is illegal.
Adams is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, FBI, and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency are investigating the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Rummage for the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.