{"id":59317,"date":"2025-08-05T02:56:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T09:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59317"},"modified":"2025-08-05T02:57:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T09:57:22","slug":"former-nfl-football-player-convicted-of-federal-dog-fighting-charges-in-oklahoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59317","title":{"rendered":"Former NFL Football Player Convicted of Federal Dog Fighting Charges in Oklahoma"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"190\" data-end=\"457\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-59318 size-full alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/images.jpg\" alt=\"Leshon Eugene Johnson (Instagram)\" width=\"201\" height=\"251\" \/>After a multi-day trial, a federal jury in Oklahoma convicted former NFL player, <strong data-start=\"252\" data-end=\"277\">Leshon Eugene Johnson<\/strong>, 54, of Broken Arrow, on <strong data-start=\"303\" data-end=\"324\">six felony counts<\/strong> for violating the <strong data-start=\"343\" data-end=\"365\">Animal Welfare Act<\/strong> by <strong data-start=\"369\" data-end=\"456\">possessing, selling, transporting, and delivering dogs for use in fighting ventures, officials announced Monday.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"190\" data-end=\"457\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u201cDog fighting is a vicious and cruel crime that has no place in a civilized society,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"459\" data-end=\"634\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Following the guilty verdict, Johnson surrendered <strong data-start=\"509\" data-end=\"521\">190 dogs<\/strong> that were seized during the investigation. The federal government is now pursuing <strong data-start=\"604\" data-end=\"618\">forfeiture<\/strong> of the animals, according to federal officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"636\" data-end=\"798\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The <strong data-start=\"640\" data-end=\"665\">U.S. Marshals Service<\/strong>, through its <strong data-start=\"679\" data-end=\"707\">asset forfeiture program<\/strong>, is responsible for the <strong data-start=\"732\" data-end=\"760\">care and custody of dogs<\/strong> seized in federal dog fighting cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"117\" data-end=\"409\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The conviction stems from a March indictment detailing <strong data-start=\"172\" data-end=\"218\">Johnson\u2019s operation of \u201cMal Kant Kennels,\u201d<\/strong> where he bred and sold \u201cchampion\u201d and \u201cgrand champion\u201d fighting dogs and their offspring for use in dog fighting. The jury heard that Johnson profited from the illegal and brutal enterprise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"411\" data-end=\"557\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Authorities seized <strong data-start=\"430\" data-end=\"442\">190 dogs<\/strong> from Johnson\u2019s property\u2014<strong data-start=\"467\" data-end=\"556\">the largest number ever taken from a single individual in a federal dog fighting case<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ex-NFL Player LeShon Johnson Arrested in Federal Dogfighting Bust! \u0964 USA TODAY NEWS\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TMyiR-BmbNw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>USA TODAY NEWS VIDEO OF JOHNSON&#8217;S ARREST<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"559\" data-end=\"741\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Johnson, who was previously convicted of state dog fighting charges in 2004, will be sentenced at a later date. He faces <strong data-start=\"680\" data-end=\"740\">up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count, officials stated.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"743\" data-end=\"1063\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The case was investigated by the <strong data-start=\"776\" data-end=\"838\">FBI\u2019s New Orleans Field Office.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a multi-day trial, a federal jury in Oklahoma convicted former NFL player, Leshon Eugene Johnson, 54, of Broken Arrow, on six felony counts for violating the Animal Welfare Act by possessing,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized 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