Post by RealPitBull on Feb 27, 2008 8:30:34 GMT -5
Feb. 27, 2008, 1:09AM
5 arrested after dogfight involving pit bulls
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5572885.html
By ROBERT CROWE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
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Five suspects were arrested after police broke up an illegal dogfight involving pit bulls in the front yard of a southwest Houston home Tuesday, authorities said.
A Houston police officer was working a routine traffic stop about 3 p.m. Tuesday when a neighbor alerted him to a dogfight in the 13400 block of Townwood Drive, officials said.
As the officer approached, the suspects fled. The group, 17 to 25, said they were standing outside the home with their dogs when two began fighting.
"That's a defense we always get: 'We were just standing there and our dogs got into a fight,' " said animal cruelty investigator Lt. Mark Timmers. "Dogs get in fights sometimes, but you don't see citizens running down the street when they see a police officer."
Two were charged with dogfighting, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years of incarceration.
The three others were charged with being spectators at a dogfight. The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months imprisonment.
Police had not released their names by Tuesday night.
Two of seven dogs at the property were injured in the fight, officials said. The Houston Humane Society seized the animals. The agency will evaluate the dogs for temperament and disposition, Timmers said. After that, the agency will decide if they can be placed into a household.
Timmers said the group may have been "bumping" the dogs — a type of sparring — to test their toughness.
Police seized several types of fighting paraphernalia, including a pry bar used to pull dogs off each other during fights.
Residents told police the suspects had fought the dogs in the front yard in the past. Residents never reported them before, Timmers said, because they feared retaliation.
"Neighbors see young men like this fighting dogs and they don't report them out of fear," he said. "People think, 'If they can do that to a dog, what can they do to me?' "
robert.crowe@chron.com
5 arrested after dogfight involving pit bulls
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5572885.html
By ROBERT CROWE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
TOOLS
Email Get section feed
Print Subscribe NOW
Comments (56) Recommend
RESOURCES
Five suspects were arrested after police broke up an illegal dogfight involving pit bulls in the front yard of a southwest Houston home Tuesday, authorities said.
A Houston police officer was working a routine traffic stop about 3 p.m. Tuesday when a neighbor alerted him to a dogfight in the 13400 block of Townwood Drive, officials said.
As the officer approached, the suspects fled. The group, 17 to 25, said they were standing outside the home with their dogs when two began fighting.
"That's a defense we always get: 'We were just standing there and our dogs got into a fight,' " said animal cruelty investigator Lt. Mark Timmers. "Dogs get in fights sometimes, but you don't see citizens running down the street when they see a police officer."
Two were charged with dogfighting, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years of incarceration.
The three others were charged with being spectators at a dogfight. The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months imprisonment.
Police had not released their names by Tuesday night.
Two of seven dogs at the property were injured in the fight, officials said. The Houston Humane Society seized the animals. The agency will evaluate the dogs for temperament and disposition, Timmers said. After that, the agency will decide if they can be placed into a household.
Timmers said the group may have been "bumping" the dogs — a type of sparring — to test their toughness.
Police seized several types of fighting paraphernalia, including a pry bar used to pull dogs off each other during fights.
Residents told police the suspects had fought the dogs in the front yard in the past. Residents never reported them before, Timmers said, because they feared retaliation.
"Neighbors see young men like this fighting dogs and they don't report them out of fear," he said. "People think, 'If they can do that to a dog, what can they do to me?' "
robert.crowe@chron.com
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