11 charged, 160 dogs rescued following dogfighting investigation in South Carolina

By Zach Rainey

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    DILLON COUNTY, South Carolina (WYFF) — The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division charged 11 men and rescued 160 dogs following a dogfighting investigation.

According to arrest warrants, nearly a dozen men were involved in violent dogfighting events that occurred on approximately nine different dates.

The operation resulted in the rescue of 160 dogs, as well as the seizure of $69,700 in cash, approximately 55 firearms, 17 pounds of marijuana, 11 grams of crack cocaine, 1 kilogram of cocaine, 2 grams of ketamine, 990 round blue fentanyl pills, and 2,266 ecstasy (MDMA) pills.

The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.

After the investigation, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster joined SLED Chief Mark Keel in a press conference to bring attention to the illegal blood sport.

SLED charged the following men on April 2:

Robert Kendale Adams, 41, was charged with the following:

Animal fighting Criminal conspiracy Ill treatment of animals Trafficking marijuana Possession of less than one gram of meth – first offense

Gavin Mandell Miles, 44, was charged with the following:

Unlawfully placing a child at risk Animal fighting Ill treatment of animals Possession of cocaine base – second offense Possession of a schedule II controlled substance – first offense Possession of a controlled substance – first offense Criminal conspiracy

James Maurice Bethea, 50, was charged with the following:

Criminal conspiracy Ill treatment of animals Animal fighting

Jonathon Ja’Teil Lester, 22, was charged with the following:

3 counts of animal fighting 3 counts of ill treatment of animals

SLED charged the following men on April 3:

Larry Darnel Mack, Jr., 49, was charged with the following:

Animal fighting Ill treatment of animals

Christopher Terrell Jordan, 32, was charged with the following:

Animal fighting Ill treatment of animals Criminal conspiracy Possession of a firearm by a person convicted of certain crimes – first offense Possession of a weapon during a violent crime Possession of crack cocaine Possession of ketamine Possession of marijuana Possession of oxycodone Possession of alprazolam Possession of a stolen pistol Trafficking cocaine Trafficking fentanyl Trafficking Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)

Anthony Dante Gause, 44, was charged with the following:

Criminal conspiracy Animal fighting Ill treatment of animals

Wade Rodeon Shipman, 61, was charged with the following:

Criminal conspiracy

Sammy Junior McCormick, 45, was charged with the following:

Animal fighting Ill treatment of animals

Blake Alexander Rogers, 29, was charged with the following:

Animal fighting Ill treatment of animals

Tyquan Tymore Rogers, 24, was charged in Dillon County on April 4 with criminal conspiracy.

Adams, Miles, Bethea, and Lester were booked into the Dillon County Detention Center on April 2.

Mack, Jr., Jordan, Gause, McCormick, and Blake Alexander Rogers were booked into the Marion County Detention Center on April 3.

Tyquan Rogers was booked into the Dillon County Detention Center on April 4.

SLED was assisted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the Summerville Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Mullins Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the South Carolina National Guard Governor’s Counterdrug Task Force, the South Carolina National Guard Readiness Center, the Mullins Fire Department, as well as several local fire departments in Dillon County.

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