Dog Fighting Bust in Jacksonville, NC
JACKSONVILLE, Onslow County - Ten North Carolina men were arrested Tuesday and Wednesday for allegedly engaging in illegal dog fighting and selling narcotics in Onslow County, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The following individuals were indicted in a 17-count indictment returned by a federal Grand Jury:
- Lewis Edmond Andrews, Jr., 41 of Maple Hill
- Ronnie Jeremy Thompson, 39 of Jacksonville
- William Jay Farrior, a/k/a “Bo”, 36 of Maple Hill
- Randall Jacob James, a/k/a “Slim”, 32 of Maple Hill
- Mark Anthony West, 52 of Jacksonville
- Leo Chadwick, 63 of Hubert
- Aaron Richardson, a/k/a “Jit”, 41 of Jacksonville
- Cedric Gerard Cook, 38 of Fayetteville
- James David Martin, 38 of Maple Hill
- James Leslie Golden, III, 46 of Ayden
Andrews, Thompson, West, Chadwick, Richardson, Cook, and Martin were charged with conspiracy to violate the animal welfare act.
The federal Animal Welfare Act makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison to fight dogs or to possess, train, sell, buy, deliver, receive or transport dogs intended for use in dog fighting.
According to the indictment, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants and their co-conspirators purchased, received, bred, trained, conditioned, transported, and delivered dogs for the purpose of entering them in dog fights. The defendants and their co-conspirators placed bets on animal fighting ventures, sometimes wagering as much as $100,000 on a single fight. Golden was charged with a misdemeanor for attending two dog fights.
Andrews, Farrior, and James are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine,“crack”, and heroin. West was also charged with distributing cocaine base “crack” within one thousand feet of Jacksonville Senior High School in Jacksonville.
Upon the arrests of the defendants, search warrants were executed on four properties suspected of containing dogs and dog fighting paraphernalia. In that process, approximately 156 dogs were seized.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jacksonville Police Department and Onslow County Sheriff’s Office.