Dogfighting takes another huge hit: Pat Patrick goes down.

[flvegan]

SWAT teams raided four homes Tuesday, one in the city and three in Pima County. They made six arrests: Emily Dennis, Robert Smith, Terry Williams, Juan Verdin and his wife, Zenadia Verdin and Mahlon Patrick.

Authorities say Patrick is one of the top three fight dog breeders in the nation.

Authorities also found about 150 dogs, many baring the scars of dog fighting, more than 50 guns and thousands of dollars in cash. The raids were the result of a nearly year long investigation.

John Goodwin with the Humane Society of the United States says Patrick has been in the dog fighting business since the 70s.

"(He) was known worldwide for two blood lines he originated. Two blood lines of fighting dogs. They go under the names Tombstone and Bolio," Goodwin said.

http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7899244

*Note: "Tombstone", the oh-so-cherished dog of his that started his success was allowed to die of heartworms. Nice fella.


Mahlon "Pat" Patrick, King of the Assholes

And from HSUS, that participated in the bust:

With the arrests of these dogfighting kingpins, one of the most important underground dogfighting networks in the U.S. has been effectively dismantled.

As a supplier of several major fighting-dog bloodlines, Patrick holds a status among professional dogfighters ranking second perhaps only to the infamous Floyd Boudreaux, who currently awaits trial on felony dogfighting charges after a 2005 raid on his Louisiana property put him out of business.

Like Patrick, Williams and Smith have been entrenched in the world of underground dogfighting for decades—breeding pitbulls and operating the second-largest game dog registry in the country, constructed to help dogfighters trace the bloodlines of fighting dogs and turn profits off their breeding. Together, the three men together may be responsible for the deaths of countless thousands of dogs during their decades-long reign.

<snip>

As for the dogs themselves, after a lifetime of isolation interrupted only by periodic, bloody bouts in the fighting pit, most had nothing but affection and sloppy kisses for their rescuers. For these dogs and the countless thousands of others who die for organized dogfighting every year, ensuring a swift and decisive prosecution of their tormentors remains the most important task at hand.

http://www.hsus.org/acf/news/bloodsport_bust_az.html



Disappointing as it is, Patrick was released without bond. The evidence seems pretty overwhelming, though. At least he's out of business, and now that they've cracked the All American Dog Registry, they have leads on hundreds if not thousands of dogfighters across the Americas.

[LeftyMom]

1. Released. Without. Bond. ?!?!?!?!?!?!?

:wtf: Wouldn't a guy with a big criminal operation, tons of out of state contacts of shady reputation, and a cache of weapons that would make a gungeonite blush be considered a bit of a flight risk?

[flvegan]

2. Both the sheriff and DA asked for bonds around $500k each.

The judge *cough* dumbass *cough* didn't think he and his crony girlfriend were flight risks as they've lived in the community for 33 years. Kinda makes the sheriff look like an asshat considering that's 33 years under his office's watch.

As I understand it, there's potential for RICO action here. Charge them, put them on trial, convict them, jail them, seize their property, leave them destitute.

Edit: found link to story about this, here:
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7911134

[LeftyMom]

3. Since the registry and sale of dogs are interstate, shouldn't there be fed charges as well?

[flvegan]

4. Oh, there will be federal charges. You'll see that.

I just want them to also pursue them for racketeering so they can take all his shit.

[LeftyMom]

5. If the commission of a felony paid for his shit, they can take it anyhow.

The laws are supposed to deal with drug dealers, but I can't see why they wouldn't apply in the case of this fugly weirdo.

[ThomCat]

6. Any further word on the care of those dogs?

:(

[flvegan]

7. I know that the dogs have all been seized.

No idea what will become of them.