Man sentenced to 475 years in prison for dog fighting
A Paulding County man has been sentenced to 475 years in prison for his involvement in dog fighting and animal cruelty. Prosecutors believe this may be the longest sentence ever handed down for animal abuse.
PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. – A Paulding County Superior Court judge sentenced a man to 475 years in prison for more than 100 dog fighting and animal cruelty charges.
PREVIOUS STORY: More than 100 dogs rescued, man arrested in Paulding County dog-fighting ring bust
(K.C. Pagnotta )
Raid on Vincent Burrell’s home
The backstory:
In November 2022, investigators raided the property of Vincent Burrell.
Paulding County Assistant District Attorney and lead prosecutor on the case, K.C. Pagnotta, was there at the scene from day one of the investigation. “Everywhere you looked, you couldn’t take a step in any one direction without there being another pit bull staked out on a chain. And the purpose of doing that is dog fighting. They will put the pit bull out on a chain, and they space each dog out enough that they can see each other. They can agitate each other, but they can actually get to one another. And it’s part of the building of aggression that they used to train fighting dogs,” Pagnotta said.
She says all the dogs were malnourished and living in deplorable conditions. This included young Baby Shark, one of the dogs rescued from the property. “She looks a lot better now, but if you can see, there’s kind of her limbs come out and an angle, both of her front legs. That’s because she developed rickets from poor nutrition, and also, the crate she was in was entirely too small. So, she wasn’t able to stretch her legs and straighten them out like she’s supposed to. And she actually had to have a series of casts on her front legs,” Pagnotta said.
(K.C. Pagnotta )
Historic dog fighting sentence
Dig deeper:
On Monday, Burrell went to trial facing 93 counts of dog fighting and 10 counts of cruelty to animals. After a four-day trial, the jury found Burrell guilty on all counts. On Thursday, Paulding County Superior Court Judge Dean Bucci handed down the maximum sentence of 475 years in prison. “I kind of lost my breath a little bit,” Pagnotta said when she heard the sentence.
She says it could possibly be the longest prison term for this type of offense in the nation’s history. “It’s extremely rare. I was actually assisted in prosecuting this case by Jessica Rock. She works for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia, and she’s actually their animal resource prosecutor. So, she travels around the state helping counties, helping aides like myself prosecute these cases. And she also prosecutes animal fighting cases federally. And so, in talking with her, as far as she knows, this is the longest sentence for dog fighting that anyone has ever been given at the state or federal level,” Pagnotta said.
What they’re saying:
Paulding County District Attorney Robert Lane says it sends a very clear message from his office. “If you come to Paulding County and you engage in evil acts, we are going to make an example out of you,” he said.
Fighting animal cruelty in Georgia
Local perspective:
Pagnotta says this case had been hidden in plain sight for years. “My house isn’t far from where the defendant lived. And the fact that he was able to operate this many dogs basically under our noses, it was shocking because the scene in his backyard was like nothing I could have ever imagined,” she said.
She says this case is going to change that going forward by helping them identify similar operations. “We know what we’re looking for now. And I think that’s going to help in any further cases we have that may include serious animal cruelty or dog fighting,” Pagnotta said.
She also said going forward they can now coordinate more easily with other agencies.
In this case, she worked with the state’s Prosecuting Attorneys Council, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, and Marshals as well as special agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
How to help end dog fighting
What you can do:
The Paulding County DA’s office says the original tip came in from an Amazon driver, which highlights how important the concept of “see something, say something” is.
Baby Shark is up for adoption! You can find out more and fill out an application at: friendstotheforlorn.org.
The Source: FOX 5’s Eric Mock spoke with Paulding County Assistant District Attorney K.C. Pagnotta, who discussed the historic sentence given to Vincent Burrell for running a dog fighting operation. Court and police records were also used, as well as a past report with the link to that story in the article. Friends to the Forlorn Pitbull Rescue, Inc. is helping Baby Shark and other pit bulls found on the property.
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