BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Two men accused of being involved in dog fighting are behind bars after the FBI raided their homes and found over 40 wounded dogs.
In addition to finding the wounded dogs, FBI agents also found equipment and supplements used for training dogs to fight, according to a criminal complaint from the United States District Southern Court of Florida.
The investigation stems back from February 2024 after law enforcement sent an informant to Alex Benefield’s home. Their meeting was captured on audio where Benefield discussed he trained dogs for the purpose of dog fighting. During another meeting a Benefield’s home in March, Benefield showed the informant a video of a dog named Blueface, killing and eating one of the dogs in the backyard of his residence.
During a conversation between Benefield and the informant, Benefield can be heard saying, “this is what I come home to.”
Months later in July, the informant was sent to Tramaine Randall’s home, located in Deerfield Beach where an audio and video recording showed three men putting together a pen for the dogs to fight in. Two of the dogs, who are believed to be a pit-bull mix, were placed in the pens to fight each other. The informant’s recording of the event showed Randall dressed in a white shirt recording the fight on his cell phone.
The report said in October Randall also sent the informant video of a dog fighting event through the messaging app, WhatsApp. In the videos Randall sent, spectators watching the dog fight can be heard saying phrases “I didn’t come to fight, I came to kill” and “it’s going to be a bloodbath” as one of the dogs fight one another.
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The criminal complaint continues, that the informant had met with Benefield in December where he learned that Randall and Benefield’s dog had fought, however Benefield had to stop the fight due to the fear of losing his dog.
On Tuesday, law enforcement issued a federal search warrant for both Randall and Benefield’s homes. In Randall’s home, law enforcement found ten pit bull-type dogs housed in the backyard of Randall’s residence. There was also a french bulldog found in a cage in the same area. The criminal complaint says agents observed multiple of the dogs had scarring and one of them was bleeding.
The complaint says there were also numerous items found in the home that were consistent with training, breeding and housing of fighting dogs.
At Benefield’s home agents found at least 34 dogs in cages, kennels and chains. The dogs also had scarring and other injuries due to being involved in fights, the complaint states. In Benefield’s backyard there was also a training shed and equipment used for dog fighting training.
While searching his home law enforcement came across a man who lived in a structure in the backyard. The man explained to police that around three years ago he was released from prison and he was staying with Benefield to help him train the dogs for food, clothing and sometimes money.
The man went on to say that at least eight of the dogs belonged to Benefield, but the others were left by individuals for training.
After being issued his Miranda Rights Benefield denied staying at his home, that the dogs were his and claimed they belonged to a missing person named Tyrone Butler.
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