A Georgia man was sentenced to nearly 500 years in prison over two years after he was arrested for breeding and training over 100 pit bulls for illegal dog fighting.
On Thursday, Vincent Lemark Burrell, 57, was sentenced to 475 years in prison after he was found guilty of 93 counts of dog fighting, all felonies, and 10 counts of animal cruelty, misdemeanors, in Paulding County, Georgia, around 35 miles northwest of Atlanta, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Each charge of dog fighting contributed five years to his sentence, while each charge of animal cruelty contributed one year, adding up to the centuries-long sentence.
It is the longest sentence involving dog fighting a person has received anywhere, Jessica K. Rock, the state animal crimes resource prosecutor, told NBC News in an email. If he had only been found guilty on the dog fighting charges, he would have still been sentenced to 465 years.
“Let this be a clear message that Paulding County will not accept or condone the inhumane treatment of animals – especially the violence and abuse associated with dog fighting,” the lead Prosecutor on the case, K.C. Pagnotta, said in a statement. “It is time as a society that we step up and stop the abuse and mistreatment of innocent animals.”
David Heath, Burrell’s attorney, filed a motion for a new trial because the verdict “is contrary to evidence and without evidence to support it” and “decidedly and strongly against the weight of the evidence.”
Heath also asks for a new trial because the verdict “is contrary to law and the principles of justice and equity” and states that Burrell did not receive a fair trial, according to the motion acquired by USA TODAY.
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Why was Burrell arrested?
The investigation started after police responded to a complaint from a concerned Amazon driver who saw “numerous dogs tied up to fence posts on heavy chains,” according to a statement from the Paulding District Attorney’s Office. “The dogs were chained close to each other but just out of reach, a tactic that serves to build dog aggression.”
On November 8th, 2022, after obtaining a search warrant, officers found 107 dogs, most of them pit bulls, in various states, according to Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.. The dogs were either emaciated or strong but “extremely aggressive to other dogs.”
Burrell was arrested that same day for “breeding, training, and facilitating over one hundred pit bulls in conjunction with dog fighting” at the home, officers stated.
‘Not fit for humans, much less dogs’
Officers found dogs tied to trees, metal stobs in the ground and other things “using large and extremely heavy logging chains and thick collars,” according to the sheriff’s office. Dogs were also found tied to car axels, Friends To The Forlorn Pitbull Rescue, who helped remove the dogs, wrote in a post on Facebook.
“Many of these dogs were basically left in the elements with little to no shelter for days on end,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Furthermore, these dogs were not being seen on a regular basis or vaccinated by a veterinarian.”
The dogs did not have any access to food and water, and “most were underweight or very underweight,” according to the District Attorney’s office.
Some dogs were also kept in the house’s basement. Inside, there was urine and feces, and the odor was so strong that authorities needed to wear protective equipment to enter the home safely.
“Conditions where dogs were being housed, both inside and on the exterior of this property, were not fit for humans, much less dogs,” the sheriff’s office stated.
Dogs rehabilitated
All the dogs found at the location were placed in different rescues after they were found to start their rehabilitation process, according to police.
“The sad part is that the vast majority of these animals just craved the love and attention of the deputies and detectives that were on the scene,” stated the sheriff’s office.
Friends to the Forlorn Pitbull Rescue’s president and founder, Jason M. Flatt and dog trainer Frank Ortiz, “worked day and night, for 4 days straight, removing over 100 dogs from their chains and holding them so they can be photographed and medically examined by veterinarians,” according to the organization’s post on Facebook.
Rescued dog attends court
Flatt still has one of the dogs seized from the property. Her name is Baby Shark, and he was asked to bring her to the courthouse, according to a different Facebook post.
“Today she saw justice in a big way,” Flatt wrote.
“Don’t fight dogs in my county,” he wrote, “They don’t play here.”
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
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