Feds say they’ve busted dog fighting breeders and Facebook groups in Statesville
More than 20 dogs and puppies have been rescued after officers shut down a Statesville dog fighting kennel where men bred, trained, sold and tied up pit bull type dogs and posted about it on Facebook.
The U.S. Marshals Service now has the dogs. The 19-year-old and 55-year-old charged in their abuse are now in federal custody and are soon due in federal court.
Juelz Christopher Daniels, 19, and Reginald Lionel Goodson, Jr., 55, both face one count of violating the Animal Welfare Act, which regulates humane care and treatment of animals. Daniels faces 11 more federal charges for selling puppies for up to $2,600 and using Facebook to do it.
Daniels and Goodson ran “Hoodwoods Kennels,” according to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. They bred “pit-bull type dogs” with particular traits — like aggressiveness and fighting tendencies — for dog fighting and made a business out of it.
Court documents reveal how they ran their operation and treated the animals. They say Goodson posted a photo of two dogs mating and included a link to a pedigree showing the dogs’ lineage. Mothers who gave birth to dogs who won three or more fights were “bestowed the prestigious ‘Register of Merit’ or ‘Producer of Record’ title,” according to the federal indictment.
Federal prosecutors say Daniels sold a puppy for $650, telling someone on Facebook that the dog’s parents “got took by police raid.” Some puppies were listed for up to $2,600. Several dogs were pictured chained to trees or metal stakes. Some footage showed them training the dogs with treadmills, sticks and chains.
Daniels faces three counts of having and selling fighting animals and eight counts of advertising them online.
Alone, the charge of conspiracy to violate the animal welfare act could result in five years in prison for Daniels and Goodson.
Daniels is in jail until his Thursday detention hearing, where U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler will hear from Daniels’ attorney and U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson’s office on whether he should be held in jail as his case moves through the uptown court.
Goodson’s initial appearance was canceled, according to federal court docket entries, because he is in the hospital.
