WARNER ROBINS, Ga. - Two Georgia men have been sentenced to prison after they were convicted in connection to an investigation into a Southern dog-fighting and cocaine trafficking ring.
Officials say 41-yeara-old Jarvis Lockett of Warner Robins and 51-year-old Christopher Raines of Talbotton both pled guilty to conspiracy to participate in an animal fighting venture and other charges.
According to court documents, the criminal organization based out of Roberta, Georgia extended into North Georgia, Florida, and Alabama from May 2019 to February 2020, when law enforcement executed search warrants.
"We have investigated animal cruelty cases in the past, so initially when this information came in, we thought that it would involve a handful of local people fighting dogs for sport," said Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese. "What started out as a local investigation soon turned into a complex investigation that included people from multiple states and all walks of life. It is impossible to comprehend just how cruel these dogs were being treated for the purpose of training them to kill. Our team rescued 168 pit bulls during the execution of the search warrants and not the first dog acted aggressively toward the officers. The dogs just wanted attention and love. Organized dog-fighting is a dark, sick and disgusting culture that has no place in our society."
During that time period, officials say Lockett attended, acted as a referee, and had dogs participate in multiple fights in Florida and Georgia. Text messages found during a search showed Lockett talking about dog-fighting subjects including killing an unaggressive dog. Other text messages discussed spending $250,000 on narcotics and cocaine.
On Feb. 26, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Lockett's family home in Roberta and recovered cash, cocaine, and evidence of dog-fighting activities. In that search, authorities found 14 dogs who had scarring consistent with dogfighting.
At a separate search of another of Lockett's properties, officials found an injured pit bull terrier dog whose injuries had been stapled shut. The dog died two days later from his injuries.
On the same day as authorities searched Lockett's home, other officials recovered 41 dogs from the property of Raines. Investigators say the dogs were malnourished with scars, hair loss, and spliced ears. While pleading guilty, Raines admitted he was the manager in the criminal organization and was responsible for drug transactions of up to 1.5 kilograms of cocaine.
"Lockett and Raines were conspirators in a criminal enterprise that profited from the suffering of both animal and human victims," said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "Dog-fighting is closely associated with other serious crimes, and today’s sentences show that those who engage in this cruel and inhumane practice face significant prison time."
Lockett was sentenced to serve 10 years imprisonment and three years supervised release. Raines was sentenced to 135 months imprisonment, five years supervised release, and a fine of $10,000.
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