A federal grand jury indicted an Alabama man on charges of illegally possessing dogs for fighting purposes and illegally possessing three firearms subsequent to a felony conviction.
The US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama unsealed the indictment in conjunction with the arrest yesterday of Carlton Lenard Adams, 51, of Bessemer and Adger. According to court documents filed in this case, Adams maintained a stock of 78 fighting dogs at three properties – two in Bessemer and one in Adger – and all were rescued by federal authorities.
Agents also recovered tools and supplies used in the training and keeping of dogs used for fighting. This included modified treadmills to hold dogs in place for dog fight conditioning, injectable veterinary steroids, suture materials and syringes, skin staplers, a homemade breeding stand used to immobilize female dogs who are too aggressive to mate naturally and a break stick device used to break the bite hold of a dog during specified intervals in a dog fight.
The defendant was further found to possess two pistols and a semi-automatic shotgun known colloquially as a “Street Sweeper.” The latter is considered as not just a firearm but a “destructive device” under federal law.
The dogs were rescued and cared for by a program administered by the US Marshals Service. Following a separate, successful civil forfeiture action brought by the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendant, but could instead be rehabilitated and evaluated for possible adoption.
If convicted, Adams faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each firearms charge. He also faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count of animal fighting charges. Under federal law, it is illegal to fight animals and to possess, train, transport, deliver, receive, buy or sell animals intended for use in an animal fighting venture.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and US Attorney Prim Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, FBI and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency are investigating the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant US Attorney Ryan Rummage for the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case. Assistant US Attorney Austin Shutt for the Northern District of Alabama handled the civil forfeiture case, which ensured that the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendant.
