{"id":46023,"date":"2021-09-17T16:03:56","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T23:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=46023"},"modified":"2021-09-17T16:03:56","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T23:03:56","slug":"georgia-man-admits-preparing-dogs-for-animal-fighting-following-a-multi-state-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=46023","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Man Admits Preparing Dogs for Animal Fighting Following a Multi-State Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">LOS ANGELES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">A well-known dog-fighting trainer and breeder admitted to an animal fighting charge as the result of an ongoing investigation into a multi-state dogfighting and drug trafficking ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Vernon Vegas, 49, of Suwanee, Georgia, plead guilty to conspiracy to participate in an animal fighting venture on Sept. 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">According to court documents, law enforcement investigated a criminal organization involved in both cocaine distribution and organized dogfighting tbased out of Roberta, Georgia, which extended into North Georgia, Florida, and Alabama from May 2019 until February 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1057\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In February 2020, law enforcement executed 15 residential search warrants and seized more than 150 dogs that were being used for organized dogfighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis case illustrates the connection between the underworld of drugs, organized crime and dog-fighting,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Division. \u201cVernon Vegas profited from these dogs\u2019 pain and will rightly be held to account.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVernon Vegas was the trainer to the trainers \u2014 he taught individuals about the bloody and brutal business of dog-fighting and worked to ensure it was thriving,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary for the Middle District of Georgia. \u201cDogfighting ventures are magnets for a multitude of dangerous criminal activity.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Between October 1996 and February 2020, Vegas, the owner of Cane Valley Kennels, bred, trained, sold, and transported dogs for the purpose of dogfighting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">As part of his business, Vegas designed and offered a seven-week \u201ckeep\u201d where he trained dogs for animal fighting ventures, prepared online pedigrees for the fighting dogs bred, and trained at Cane Valley Kennels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">He also provided advice to his co-conspirators on how to train dogs for purposes of engaging in animal fighting ventures and kept a multitude of training and conditioning equipment including slat mills, chains, a staple gun, hanging weight scales, break sticks, flirt poles, and various medicines to treat injuries or disease sustained by dogs made to fight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Between January 2017, and February 2020, Vegas attended dog fights with co-conspirators Derrick Owens and Christopher Raines at locations in the Middle District of Georgia and advised Owens on various matters related to preparing dogs for animal fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Vegas is facing up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES A well-known dog-fighting trainer and breeder admitted to an animal fighting charge as the result of an ongoing investigation into a multi-state dogfighting and drug trafficking ring. Vernon Vegas, 49,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3255],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal-court"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Georgia Man Admits Preparing Dogs for Animal Fighting Following a Multi-State Investigation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES A well-known dog-fighting trainer and breeder admitted to an animal fighting charge as the result of an ongoing investigation into a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=46023\" \/>\n<meta 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