Three people were arrested in South Carolina after a dog-fighting probe uncovered over 20 dogs, some with scars consistent with organized fighting.
RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — Three suspects from Richland County have been arrested following a state investigation into dog fighting that also led investigators to more than 20 dogs.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced that it had arrested the three following an investigation that led deputies to separate properties, one of which they had visited years earlier. They included one on Cane Lake Drive near Columbia and another on Toms Creek Drive near Hopkins. A third address on Manville Saint Charles Road in Lee County was tied to an associated investigation a year earlier.
Investigators executed a search warrant on Thursday and found 14 dogs at 47-year-old Markus Anjawn Brown’s Cane Lake Drive home. The warrant states that seven of the dogs had scar patterns suggesting they were used for fighting. Nine live dogs and one dead dog were also found at the Toms Creek Road location where 27-year-old Konna Rakayla Grant and 69-year-old Lucille Oree live. The 23 recovered dogs from these locations are receiving care from the Humane World for Animals.
SLED provided an additional warrant affidavit issued in August 2024 at a Manville Saint Charles Road residence in Lee County, where investigators found 12 adult dogs and five puppies. Authorities tied Brown and a co-conspirator to the location, and warrants claim Brown was active in dog fighting as early as November 2023.
SLED charged Brown with criminal conspiracy and animal fighting on Thursday and seven counts each of ill treatment of animals and animal fighting on Friday. Brown faces an additional charge of manufacture or distribution of cocaine after he was found with roughly seven grams when he was arrested in the 4000 block of West Beltline. He’s being held at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.
SLED arrested Grant on charges of criminal conspiracy and seven counts each of ill treatment of animals and animal fighting on Thursday. The third suspect, Oree, was charged with criminal conspiracy and ill treatment of animals. Grant and Oree are being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
Tipsters can report dog fighting at tips@sled.sc.gov or by calling 866-472-8477.
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