He will also be placed on three-years supervised release].
A U-S District Court Judge on Monday sentenced a Kearneysville, West Virginia man to three months of prison, followed by three years of supervised probation. Steve Jennings is also prohibited from owning a dog or living where dogs are present.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says Jennings was arrested last June, and charged with 14 counts of animal fighting. Authorities served a search warrant on his home at 4190 Bowers Road, where Jennings was using his property to breed, fight and sell pit bulls. 20 dogs were seized; 14 of them had injuries consistent with dog fighting.
At the time of the search, Sheriff Pete Dougherty commended the patience of all who took part in the operation. “This effort is the culmination of lots of work by the Humane Society, the Sheriff’s Office, and Jefferson County Animal Control Officers,” he said in a statement. “The assistance of all helped end this cycle of animal abuse.”
The case started out as a state prosecution, but was transferred to the Federal Courts since the federal crimes involved more stringent penalties.
The Sheriff’s Office says this incident led the West Virginia Legislature to enact a law which increases the penalties for dog fighting and wagering on fighting, and for bringing children to dog fights.