{"id":48831,"date":"2022-01-19T10:42:10","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T18:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48831"},"modified":"2022-01-19T10:43:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T18:43:33","slug":"georgia-dog-breeder-sentenced-to-five-years-in-prison-for-dog-fighting-cocaine-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48831","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Dog Breeder Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Dog-Fighting, Cocaine Trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"

GEORGIA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"A well-known dog-fighting trainer and breeder, who owned Cane Valley Kennels, was sentenced to five years in prison for a multi-state dog-fighting and cocaine trafficking ring, officials announced Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vernon Vegas, 49, of Suwanee, Georgia, was also fined $10,000 fine.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Tilman E. \u201cTripp\u201d Self III sentenced Vegas. <\/span>Vegas agreed to forfeit $116,819 in cash seized during the investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVernon Vegas is being held accountable for his violent, illegal and inhumane actions,\u201d\u00a0said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Division. \u201cThis case illustrates that dog-fighting is intimately connected with the underworld of drugs and organized crime, and that the Department of Justice will investigate and prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law.\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Department of Justice Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,<\/a> Vegas, the owner of Cane Valley Kennels, was one of 11 people indicted on federal charges after a major dogfighting and drug distribution operation was busted, Leary said in a news release. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Journal-Constitution reported that the investigation led to the execution of 15 residential search warrants in February 2020, resulting in the seizure of more than 150 dogs that were kept for organized fighting. The Roberta-based organization\u2019s activities extended into North Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cVernon Vegas has received the maximum prison sentence for training others in the brutal and bloody business of dog-fighting, a world that fosters a multitude of other dangerous criminal activity,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary for the Middle District of Georgia. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, law enforcement investigated a criminal organization involved in both cocaine distribution and organized dogfighting based out of Roberta, Georgia, which extended into North Georgia, Florida, and Alabama from May 2019 until February 2020. <\/span><\/p>\n

In February 2020, law enforcement executed 15 residential search warrants and seized more than 150 dogs that were being used for organized dogfighting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between October 1996 and February 2020, Vegas, the owner of Cane Valley Kennels, bred, trained, sold, and transported dogs for the purpose of dogfighting.<\/span><\/p>\n

These dogs included Grand Champion \u201cBaby Gracie,\u201d Champion \u201cSon of Sam 2XBis,\u201d Champion \u201cSpider,\u201d Champion \u201cBucky Mike,\u201d Champion \u201cBear,\u201d Champion \u201cKocky Mike,\u201d Champion \u201cFantasmin,\u201d Champion \u201cJulie the Great,\u201d and one-time winner, \u201cBrenda.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n