A Louisiana man was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and a $1000 fine for possession of an animal in an animal fighting venture.
61 YO Clay Turner of Loranger pleaded guilty to possession of an animal for use in an animal fighting venture on June 30, 2021.
According to court documents, Turner possessed and trained dogs for the purpose of having them participate in animal fighting ventures. On telephone calls obtained via court-authorized wiretaps, Turner and others discussed gambling on dog fights, arranging and participating in dog fights, sponsoring and exhibiting dogs in dog fights, training and housing dogs for the purposes of dog fighting, commerce in and transport of fighting dogs, and the promotion of dog fights.
In October 2017, a federal law enforcement team consisting of agents from the Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and other agencies executed a search warrant on Turner’s residence in Loranger.
During the search, 33 dogs were found on the property, many of which had injuries, scarring and fresh wounds.
