Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Sarah F. Geolas | | Defense(s): | John E. Harvell | | Judge(s): | Stephen Tatum |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
more information on voting
When you vote, you are voting on whether or not the punishment fit the crime, NOT on the severity of the case itself. If you feel the sentence was very weak, you would vote 1 star. If you feel the sentence was very strong, you would vote 5 stars.
Please vote honestly and realistically. These ratings will be used a a tool for many future programs, including a "People’s Choice" of best and worst sentencing, DA and judge "report cards", and more. Try to resist the temptation to vote 1 star on every case, even if you feel that 100 years in prison isn’t enough.
Case #12207 Rating: 2.3 out of 5
Dog-fighting - 19 dogs seized
Olathe, KS (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007
County: Johnson
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Reginald Marcellius Anderson
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
A Johnson County man is accused of breeding and fighting dogs. It's the first case of the kind in the county since Kansas outlawed dogfighting in 1982.
Reginald Anderson, 31, is accused of breeding and fighting 18 pit bulls at his house on 127th Terrace in Olathe.
Inside the home, investigators found performance enhancing drugs, jaw strengthening ropes, a dog treadmill and a so-called rape stand for breeding aggressive animals, court records show.
"I can't say that I'm surprised because I knew something was going on for a while," neighbor Steve Rock told KMBC's Dion Lim.
Rock said there was always a suspicious smell coming from Anderson's home. It was that smell that led another neighbor to alert animal control officers on June 12.
"This case came to life because we had concerned citizens who were willing to notify us when they had concerns about what was going on in their neighborhood," Olathe police Chief Janet Thiessen said.
The district attorney said anyone who participates in dogfighting should be held accountable.
Anderson was also charged with cruelty to animals, marijuana possession, paraphernalia and intent to sell. Including the breeding and dogfighting charges, Anderson could faces up to 32 months in prison.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this summer. His trial is set for Oct. 29, 2007.
Case UpdatesIn what prosecutors say is Johnson County's first criminal case involving dogfighting, Reginald Marcellius Anderson was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in prison.
Anderson, 32, of Olathe, was convicted in June of raising pit bulls for the purpose of fighting, as well as animal cruelty. Before the trial, he pleaded guilty to three felony drug charges involving marijuana. District Judge Stephen Tatum sentenced him on all five counts.
Tatum said the evidence was clear that Anderson was breeding the dogs for profit and that they were being trained for fighting. He noted that "there's a lot of money to be made" by selling pit bulls for fighting.
"It's a brutal, brutal activity," Tatum told Anderson. "It's not something our society condones."
At the trial, an Olathe animal control officer testified that she saw two pens of pit bull puppies. She said that their bedding was soaked with urine and feces and that their bowls had little water or food. She said some of the puppies were so thin their ribs were showing.
After obtaining a search warrant last year, police seized 16 puppies and three adult dogs from Anderson's Olathe duplex.
All but three of the dogs were later euthanized. There was no evidence that dogfights occurred on Anderson's property. A hearing was scheduled for Sept. 8 on whether the three remaining dogs should be killed.
After serving his 15-month sentence, Anderson will be placed on two years of post- release supervision.
John E. Harvell, Anderson's attorney, urged Tatum to sentence his client to a community corrections facility. He said Anderson had enrolled in Johnson County Community College and was trying to turn his life around. Harvell also pointed out that Anderson had no criminal history.
"I apologize for even being here," Anderson told the judge. "I have never fought a dog. I love my dogs."
Harvell said Anderson had the dogs only a couple of weeks.
Assistant district attorney Sarah Geolas, on the other hand, urged Tatum to impose the maximum sentence of 32 months. She characterized dogfighting as "despicable, disgusting."
"The dogs are the true victims," she told the judge.
Tatum said the charges were serious but noted that Anderson had expressed remorse and was intelligent.
"You have a lot of potential to do something with your life," the judge told Anderson. | Source: Kansas City Star - Sept 2, 2008
Update posted on Sep 2, 2008 - 11:46PM |
| Anderson was sentenced this morning. He received a total of 15 months to serve in the Department of Corrections. The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Sarah F. Geolas, had requested a total sentence of 44 months on the combined charges. Based on sentencing guidelines, he was actually eligible for all probation with no active time. | | Update posted on Sep 2, 2008 - 6:36PM |
An Olathe man who had pit bull terriers has been found guilty of the unlawful conduct of dogfighting and of cruelty to animals.
A Johnson County judge delivered the verdicts Wednesday against Reginald Marcellius Anderson, 31, after a bench trial that began Monday.
Before the trial started, Anderson pleaded guilty to three felony drug charges involving marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
District Court Judge Stephen Tatum scheduled sentencing for Sept. 2. The dogfighting conduct is a felony; animal cruelty is a misdemeanor.
In opening statements Monday, assistant district attorney Sarah Geolas said Anderson was training three adult pit bulls for fighting and forcing them and 16 pit bull puppies to live in squalor.
After a search warrant was executed at Anderson's home on June 14, 2007, authorities confiscated a dog treadmill, heavy chains and journals important in the world of underground dogfighting, Geolas said.
Nineteen dogs were taken into custody; 16 either died or were euthanized because of their condition. The city of Olathe last week filed a petition with the court seeking permission to euthanize the remaining dogs. | Source: Kansas City Star - Jun 27, 2008
Update posted on Jun 27, 2008 - 3:49PM |
More than a dozen dogs have been euthanized in the wake of a dog-fighting investigation in Johnson County.
The fate of three more canines linked to the case will be decided after the defendant, Reginald Anderson, goes to trial in October.
Anderson, 31, is charged with a felony count of dog fighting, a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and drug charges related to search warrants executed June 14 at his residence at 15821 W. 127th Terrace in Olathe. Anderson has pleaded not guilty.
"He denies that he was breeding pit bulls for fighting," said John Harvell, Anderson's attorney. "He had pit bulls and pit bull puppies at his home in Olathe. He had what you would need to breed animals, but I don't believe the prosecutor has any evidence that the animals were involved in fighting."
Anderson is accused of breeding pit bull terriers for dog fighting. Officials released additional details about the case during a press conference today with Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline, Olathe police Chief Janet Thiessen and Kansas state Sen. David Haley, who sponsored Kansas' felony animal cruelty statute last year.
At the press conference, officials clarified the sequence of events that led to the charges.
The investigation began with complaints about odors from the property. In a search, investigators found marijuana and items commonly linked to dog fighting, including performance-enhancing drugs and a canine treadmill.
They also found four adult pit bulls and 14 pit bull puppies. The puppies were put to sleep after being diagnosed with a parasitic disease that occurs in neglected dogs. An adult male dog also was euthanized after being attacked by another dog from the property.
Three remaining dogs are at the Olathe animal shelter, but have been deemed too aggressive for adoption. | Source: KansasCity.Com - Aug 30, 2007
Update posted on Aug 31, 2007 - 12:42PM |
References
|
