At a Glance
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
- Case Type
- Sentencing
- Parties
- United States v. Leslie Meyers
- Jurisdiction
- Federal, Middle District of Georgia
- Date
- 2021-09-24
- Status
- Sentenced
The case centered on a "two-card" dog fight in Sumter County, Georgia, that law enforcement disrupted while it was in progress on Jan. 21, 2017. Leslie Meyers, also known as Les, 45, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to serve a total of 123 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate the Animal Welfare Act and unlawful possession of a handgun by a person with a prior felony conviction. The case drew national attention after the Washington Post reported on the conduct that triggered the prosecution and the evidence officers recovered at the scene [1].
According to court documents, Meyers traveled to the Sumter County event from Florida with a dog, which he entered into a fight against a dog handled by co-defendant Timothy White, and Meyers was in illegal possession of a pistol at the time. Meyers's dog was declared the winner of the fight but refused to complete a "courtesy scratch," a ritual in which a dog that has already won is returned to a corner of the ring and released one final time to attack the losing dog. After the dog refused to complete the scratch, Meyers suffocated the animal to death by hanging him from a tree branch; law enforcement found the dog's body under the bumper of Meyers's car. [2]
Officers who raided the fight found a bloody fighting pit, a skin stapler, prescription veterinary drugs, and the dog killed by its owner. [1] Authorities also encountered two other live dogs in the middle of a fight, one of which sustained extensive injuries and had to be euthanized. After most participants fled the scene, agents recovered several firearms and approximately $18,000 in U.S. currency. [2] Search warrants later executed at defendants' residences revealed dozens of pit bull-type dogs housed in conditions consistent with dog fighting, many emaciated and bearing scarring or injuries. Authorities also seized dog-fighting equipment, including injectable veterinary steroids and a treadmill on which dogs' fighting histories, including whether they had died in fights, were recorded. [2]
The last four of 12 defendants convicted on federal dog-fighting charges were sentenced in Albany, Georgia, by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner presided over the sentencing hearings. There is no parole in the federal system. [2] Meyers's 123-month sentence reflected an upward departure to the statutory maximum of 60 months on each of four dog-fighting charges, running concurrent to one another and consecutive to a 63-month sentence on the firearm count. [2] Co-defendant Kizzy Solomon, also known as Kizzy Andrews, 44, of Camilla, Georgia, was sentenced to 30 months after a federal jury convicted her on 15 counts of aiding and abetting the possession and training of dogs for an animal fighting venture. Orlando Johnson, 35, of Americus, Georgia, received 30 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate the Animal Welfare Act. [2]
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, and Decatur County Animal Control. [2] Dog fighting is a felony offense under federal law and a crime in all 50 states. [3] The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Crane for the Middle District of Georgia and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of the Environment and Natural Resources Division [2].
References
[1] The Washington Post. (2021, September 29). A pit bull was killed after being forced to fight another dog. His owner will now spend 10 years in prison. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/09/29/georgia-dog-fighting/
[2] U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. (2021, September 24). Final Defendants Sentenced in Federal Dog Fighting Case. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/final-defendants-sentenced-federal-dog-fighting-case
[3] NPR. (2025, February 4). Georgia man sentenced to almost 500 years for dogfighting. https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/nx-s1-5286287/dogfighting-georgia-man-sentenced-475-years