Post by RealPitBull on Mar 12, 2008 8:02:31 GMT -5
Lawyer: Police sensationalized pit bull case
Attorney for Silver Spring man accused of training dogs to fight says they’re trying to make her client ‘the Michael Vick of Montgomery County’
by Agnes Jasinski | Staff Writer
The lawyer representing the Silver Spring man who police allege was training pit bulls for illegal dogfights says the case against her client has been sensationalized by police.
Rene Sandler, the Rockville attorney representing Maurice Tyrone Collier Jr., said Collier will go to trial later this month to clear his name on charges including animal cruelty involving the six pit bulls that police allege had been used in dogfights and have since been euthanized.
‘‘What one can’t help to think is that they are trying to make Mr. Collier the Michael Vick of Montgomery County,” Sandler said.
Vick, a star quarterback with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons, was suspended from the NFL and is serving 23 months in jail for running dogfights in Virginia, where legislators await passage of an act that would make attending dogfights a felony. The case drew national publicity.
‘‘We’re going to trial, and we’re looking forward to it,” Sandler said.
Police accused Collier, 29, of the 3900 block of Ilford Road in Silver Spring of training his pit bulls to fight. Charges followed a search of his home Feb. 28.
As police were executing a warrant in search of firearms and drugs following Collier’s arrest for possession of both earlier that day, they found two unattended pit bulls in the home and four improperly restrained pit bulls in the backyard, according to charging documents filed by an officer in the county police department’s Animal Services Division.
One female pit bull was loose inside the house with scars on its neck and ears. Another adult male pit bull had scars on its legs, neck, head and ears, with an old broken jaw wound that healed crookedly, according to the charging documents. Police also found a treadmill with restraints attached that officers believe Collier used to exercise the dogs. Syringes, veterinary antibiotics and painkillers also were found in Collier’s refrigerator.
The dogs outside were without water and underfed, and several of the dogs had injuries and scars that suggested they had been involved in fights, according to the charging documents.
The dogs were taken away by Animal Services Division officers and euthanized later that day by the Humane Society of the United States. Police said a rabbit found in the home suspected to have been used in training the dogs to be more aggressive was not euthanized.
‘‘Had it not been for the fact that this gentleman was arrested on another charge, we never may have known he had dogs alleged to have been used in fighting,” said Paul Hibler, director of the county police department’s Animal Services Division.
Collier’s fiancée, Latavia McKinney, who lives in the Ilford Road home with her three children, would not comment on the charges, saying only that ‘‘they’re wrong about him.”
Seth Zucker, a spokesman for the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, said prosecutors would not comment on a pending case.
Collier has been previously cited for animal violations. In March 1997, Montgomery County Animal Control officers fined Collier $500 for failing to provide his pit bulls with proper shelter, and $50 for failing to license a pit bull named ‘‘Rage,” according to the civil citations filed in county District Court. Collier was then living in the 2700 block of Snowbird Terrace in Silver Spring.
The animal cruelty charges brought against Collier last month followed a series of unrelated arrests the same day the dogs were discovered. Collier was initially pulled over just after midnight Feb. 27 for a traffic stop in Gaithersburg, according to police.
Police stopped Collier, searched his car and found two loaded handguns, marijuana and cocaine, police said last week. A search of his home revealed several illegal firearms, a bulletproof vest, more drugs and paraphernalia such as baggies, a digital scale and ledgers that suggested to police that Collier was intending to sell the drugs, according to charging documents. Collier pleaded guilty in 2005 to a felony charge of conspiracy to possess drugs with intent to distribute, the documents said.
Collier was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted drug felon and drug possession in addition to the animal cruelty offenses. He is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center on $105,000 bond, Sandler said.
If found guilty of the most serious animal cruelty charge, possessing a pit bull with the intention to use it in dogfighting, Collier faces a maximum of three years in prison and⁄or a $5,000 fine.
The most serious charge of the more than a dozen drug and firearm possession charges filed against Collier is possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute, which could result in a maximum of 20 years in prison and⁄or $25,000 in fines if he is convicted.
The trial on the animal cruelty charges is scheduled March 31. A preliminary hearing on the firearm and drug charges will be held March 28.
Attorney for Silver Spring man accused of training dogs to fight says they’re trying to make her client ‘the Michael Vick of Montgomery County’
by Agnes Jasinski | Staff Writer
The lawyer representing the Silver Spring man who police allege was training pit bulls for illegal dogfights says the case against her client has been sensationalized by police.
Rene Sandler, the Rockville attorney representing Maurice Tyrone Collier Jr., said Collier will go to trial later this month to clear his name on charges including animal cruelty involving the six pit bulls that police allege had been used in dogfights and have since been euthanized.
‘‘What one can’t help to think is that they are trying to make Mr. Collier the Michael Vick of Montgomery County,” Sandler said.
Vick, a star quarterback with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons, was suspended from the NFL and is serving 23 months in jail for running dogfights in Virginia, where legislators await passage of an act that would make attending dogfights a felony. The case drew national publicity.
‘‘We’re going to trial, and we’re looking forward to it,” Sandler said.
Police accused Collier, 29, of the 3900 block of Ilford Road in Silver Spring of training his pit bulls to fight. Charges followed a search of his home Feb. 28.
As police were executing a warrant in search of firearms and drugs following Collier’s arrest for possession of both earlier that day, they found two unattended pit bulls in the home and four improperly restrained pit bulls in the backyard, according to charging documents filed by an officer in the county police department’s Animal Services Division.
One female pit bull was loose inside the house with scars on its neck and ears. Another adult male pit bull had scars on its legs, neck, head and ears, with an old broken jaw wound that healed crookedly, according to the charging documents. Police also found a treadmill with restraints attached that officers believe Collier used to exercise the dogs. Syringes, veterinary antibiotics and painkillers also were found in Collier’s refrigerator.
The dogs outside were without water and underfed, and several of the dogs had injuries and scars that suggested they had been involved in fights, according to the charging documents.
The dogs were taken away by Animal Services Division officers and euthanized later that day by the Humane Society of the United States. Police said a rabbit found in the home suspected to have been used in training the dogs to be more aggressive was not euthanized.
‘‘Had it not been for the fact that this gentleman was arrested on another charge, we never may have known he had dogs alleged to have been used in fighting,” said Paul Hibler, director of the county police department’s Animal Services Division.
Collier’s fiancée, Latavia McKinney, who lives in the Ilford Road home with her three children, would not comment on the charges, saying only that ‘‘they’re wrong about him.”
Seth Zucker, a spokesman for the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, said prosecutors would not comment on a pending case.
Collier has been previously cited for animal violations. In March 1997, Montgomery County Animal Control officers fined Collier $500 for failing to provide his pit bulls with proper shelter, and $50 for failing to license a pit bull named ‘‘Rage,” according to the civil citations filed in county District Court. Collier was then living in the 2700 block of Snowbird Terrace in Silver Spring.
The animal cruelty charges brought against Collier last month followed a series of unrelated arrests the same day the dogs were discovered. Collier was initially pulled over just after midnight Feb. 27 for a traffic stop in Gaithersburg, according to police.
Police stopped Collier, searched his car and found two loaded handguns, marijuana and cocaine, police said last week. A search of his home revealed several illegal firearms, a bulletproof vest, more drugs and paraphernalia such as baggies, a digital scale and ledgers that suggested to police that Collier was intending to sell the drugs, according to charging documents. Collier pleaded guilty in 2005 to a felony charge of conspiracy to possess drugs with intent to distribute, the documents said.
Collier was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted drug felon and drug possession in addition to the animal cruelty offenses. He is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center on $105,000 bond, Sandler said.
If found guilty of the most serious animal cruelty charge, possessing a pit bull with the intention to use it in dogfighting, Collier faces a maximum of three years in prison and⁄or a $5,000 fine.
The most serious charge of the more than a dozen drug and firearm possession charges filed against Collier is possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute, which could result in a maximum of 20 years in prison and⁄or $25,000 in fines if he is convicted.
The trial on the animal cruelty charges is scheduled March 31. A preliminary hearing on the firearm and drug charges will be held March 28.