OKLAHOMA CITY — A former NFL participant from Oklahoma has been convicted for his position in a large-scale dogfighting operation, federal prosecutors introduced.
LeShon Eugene Johnson, 54, of Damaged Arrow was convicted of six felony counts of possessing canines to be used in an animal-fighting enterprise. He was acquitted of 17 different comparable counts. He faces as much as 5 years in jail and a advantageous of as much as $250,000 on every rely when he is formally sentenced at a later date.
“The FBI is not going to stand for many who perpetuate the despicable crime of dogfighting,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated in a press release. “Due to the laborious work of our regulation enforcement companions, those that proceed to have interaction in organized animal preventing and cruelty will face justice.”
Johnson was a working again for the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants from 1994 to 1999.
Prosecutors alleged that Johnson operated Mal Kant Kennels in Damaged Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma, and selectively bred pit-bull-type canines generally known as champions or grand champions due to profitable canine fights. Earlier this yr, the federal government seized 190 canines from Johnson which have been within the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Johnson allegedly bred canines that had gained as many as 5 fights after which bought “stud rights” and their offspring to different dogfighters, in line with the Justice Division. The trafficking befell throughout the U.S. and helped to develop the dogfighting trade, whereas leading to Johnson profiting financially, prosecutors alleged.
Johnson’s lawyer, Billy Coyle, stated his consumer was a canine breeder who was by no means accused of preventing canines and famous that the jury acquitted Johnson on many of the counts in opposition to him.
“He was merely a breeder of the American pit bull terrier,” Coyle stated. “Clearly the jury discovered that a few of his canines bred have been most likely or have been utilized in canine preventing, and people have been tough expenses to battle.”
Coyle stated federal brokers additionally used heavy-handed ways, with greater than 40 officers raiding his house late at evening, pointing weapons at Johnson and his spouse and seizing his canines and property.
Johnson beforehand pleaded responsible to state animal preventing expenses in 2004 in Oklahoma. He was given a five-year deferred sentence, in line with court docket paperwork.