Georgia Man Arrested on Federal Dog Fighting, Firearms and Drug Trafficking Charges

A federal grand jury indicted Dun Terrius Bradford, 53, of Sale City, Georgia, on charges of illegally possessing 67 dogs for fighting purposes, manufacturing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base and possessing five firearms in furtherance of those offenses. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia unsealed the indictment in conjunction with Bradford's arrest today.

According to court documents, the defendant maintained a stock of 67 fighting dogs at his Sale City home. Following the execution of a search warrant, the dogs were seized and will be cared for by a program administered by the U.S. Marshals Service. Agents also recovered tools and supplies used in the training and keeping of dogs used for fighting, including modified treadmills to hold dogs in place for dog fight conditioning, injectable veterinary steroids, a home-made "breeding stand" used to immobilize female dogs who are too dog-aggressive to mate naturally and a "break stick" device used to break the bite hold of a dog during specified intervals in a dog fight. Officers also recovered cocaine base and five firearms.

If convicted, Bradford faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison per count of animal fighting charges, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million on the cocaine charge, a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the firearms charge to be served consecutively to other counts of conviction and a $250,000 fine for each dog fighting and firearms count. Under federal law, it is illegal not only to fight animals, but also to possess, train, transport, deliver, receive, buy or sell animals intended for use in fighting. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Peter Leary for the Middle District of Georgia made the announcement.

The Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General and detectives with the Mitchell County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office are investigating the case.

Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD's Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elicia Hargrove for the Middle District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.