June 30, 2006
Dogfight charges head to court
Humane Society officer,
Allentown police recall gory scene at club.
By Manuel Gamiz Jr. Of The
Morning Call
A Lehigh County Humane Society
officer testified Thursday that when he and several
Allentown police officers went to the Down Low nightclub
to investigate a possible dogfight, they discovered a
wooden fight pit, a blood-soaked carpet, and two pit
bulls locked onto each other in battle.
Orlando Aguirre said he used a police baton to separate the dogs, but knew they would not survive.
'They were very injured,'' Aguirre testified at the preliminary hearing for seven of the 11 men accused of staging or watching the bloody fight. ''One of the dogs was taken to the humane society and died at the scene. … The other dog had lacerations to his face, heavy bleeding and was staggering. He was still showing aggression and was humanely euthanized.''
After hearing about five hours of testimony from Aguirre, three Allentown police officers, the owner of the Down Low and the 13-year-old son of one of the defendants, District Judge Charles Crawford ruled there was enough evidence to send charges of felony cruelty to animals against seven defendants to Lehigh County Court.
In court Thursday were Allentown residents Khayree M. Pickett, 27, of 205 N. Jordan St.; Moses Ramos, 28, of 634 Lehigh St.; and Noel J. Velez, 26, of 640 N. Lumber St.; Easton resident Levar T. Cook, 25, of 24 N. Ninth St.; Bethlehem resident Martin Laluz Sr., 34, of 447 E. Garrison St.; Mikkel R. McKinney, 27, of Philadelphia; and Javon K. Johnson, 28, of Port Jervis, N.Y.
Winfield R. Poyer, 29, also of Port Jervis, and Emmaus resident Daniel M. Petties, 27, of 330 Powdermill Lane, had to reschedule their hearings because they had no legal representation Thursday. Andrew S. Davis, 31, of Yulan, N.Y, waived his hearing and his case was sent to court.
Allentown resident Glenn Prude, 42, of 1108 Tilghman St., waived his preliminary hearing earlier this month. Davis, Laluz and Prude also face additional felony charges for allegedly conspiring to organize the fight.
Crawford dismissed two felony charges against Laluz, the head of security at the club, after no evidence was presented to show that anyone was betting on the dogs or that he was responsible for allowing people inside the club. He also faces misdemeanor corruption of minor charges for taking his son to the fight.
Several of the seven attorneys at the hearing argued that their clients stumbled upon the dogfight while at the night club at 333 Court St. to pick up their paychecks for working as bouncers and were not spectators.
After Allentown detectives testified that they found no evidence of paychecks, Senior Deputy District Attorney Diane Marakovits said, ''There were no paychecks. They were there to watch a dogfight.''
Police were called to the Down Low about 2 p.m. on May 6, after Aguirre received an anonymous tip from a woman that there was a dogfight in progress. He testified that he went to the night club and heard people cheering and dogs growling, and phoned Allentown police, who dispatched more than a dozen officers.
Allentown officer Robert Judge testified that 11 people and a boy were arrested in the club; three in the basement where the fight was taking place, two on the roof and the others who tried running out a first-floor exit on the north side of the club.
Attorneys for Ramos and Pickett claimed they worked at the club as bouncers and were there only to pick up their pay.
Allentown Detective Paul Wargo testified that Ramos said in a statement that he observed 10 people in the club and saw the dogfighting and ''knew it was wrong and should have turned away.'' Wargo testified that he interviewed Laluz, who told him he bought the wood to build the makeshift ring.
Allentown Detective Glenn Granitz testified that he interviewed Cook, Velez and McKinney, who all said they went with their friends to pick up their paychecks and were in the club for about 10 minutes and witnessed the dogfighting.
Laluz's son, who also was arrested in May, testified that he was with his father at the home of Prude, also known as ''Heavy,'' when Prude placed a scale and a pit bull in the back of his father's minivan. The boy said Prude, who was at Thursday's hearing for a brief time, opened up the night club and let them and three others inside.
The boy said he went straight to the bathroom with Prude's dog, named Pit Stop, and Prude later weighed it and placed him in the ring, where it fought with Davis' dog, nicknamed Booger.
manuel.gamiz@mcall.com
610-820-6595
Orlando Aguirre said he used a police baton to separate the dogs, but knew they would not survive.
'They were very injured,'' Aguirre testified at the preliminary hearing for seven of the 11 men accused of staging or watching the bloody fight. ''One of the dogs was taken to the humane society and died at the scene. … The other dog had lacerations to his face, heavy bleeding and was staggering. He was still showing aggression and was humanely euthanized.''
After hearing about five hours of testimony from Aguirre, three Allentown police officers, the owner of the Down Low and the 13-year-old son of one of the defendants, District Judge Charles Crawford ruled there was enough evidence to send charges of felony cruelty to animals against seven defendants to Lehigh County Court.
In court Thursday were Allentown residents Khayree M. Pickett, 27, of 205 N. Jordan St.; Moses Ramos, 28, of 634 Lehigh St.; and Noel J. Velez, 26, of 640 N. Lumber St.; Easton resident Levar T. Cook, 25, of 24 N. Ninth St.; Bethlehem resident Martin Laluz Sr., 34, of 447 E. Garrison St.; Mikkel R. McKinney, 27, of Philadelphia; and Javon K. Johnson, 28, of Port Jervis, N.Y.
Winfield R. Poyer, 29, also of Port Jervis, and Emmaus resident Daniel M. Petties, 27, of 330 Powdermill Lane, had to reschedule their hearings because they had no legal representation Thursday. Andrew S. Davis, 31, of Yulan, N.Y, waived his hearing and his case was sent to court.
Allentown resident Glenn Prude, 42, of 1108 Tilghman St., waived his preliminary hearing earlier this month. Davis, Laluz and Prude also face additional felony charges for allegedly conspiring to organize the fight.
Crawford dismissed two felony charges against Laluz, the head of security at the club, after no evidence was presented to show that anyone was betting on the dogs or that he was responsible for allowing people inside the club. He also faces misdemeanor corruption of minor charges for taking his son to the fight.
Several of the seven attorneys at the hearing argued that their clients stumbled upon the dogfight while at the night club at 333 Court St. to pick up their paychecks for working as bouncers and were not spectators.
After Allentown detectives testified that they found no evidence of paychecks, Senior Deputy District Attorney Diane Marakovits said, ''There were no paychecks. They were there to watch a dogfight.''
Police were called to the Down Low about 2 p.m. on May 6, after Aguirre received an anonymous tip from a woman that there was a dogfight in progress. He testified that he went to the night club and heard people cheering and dogs growling, and phoned Allentown police, who dispatched more than a dozen officers.
Allentown officer Robert Judge testified that 11 people and a boy were arrested in the club; three in the basement where the fight was taking place, two on the roof and the others who tried running out a first-floor exit on the north side of the club.
Attorneys for Ramos and Pickett claimed they worked at the club as bouncers and were there only to pick up their pay.
Allentown Detective Paul Wargo testified that Ramos said in a statement that he observed 10 people in the club and saw the dogfighting and ''knew it was wrong and should have turned away.'' Wargo testified that he interviewed Laluz, who told him he bought the wood to build the makeshift ring.
Allentown Detective Glenn Granitz testified that he interviewed Cook, Velez and McKinney, who all said they went with their friends to pick up their paychecks and were in the club for about 10 minutes and witnessed the dogfighting.
Laluz's son, who also was arrested in May, testified that he was with his father at the home of Prude, also known as ''Heavy,'' when Prude placed a scale and a pit bull in the back of his father's minivan. The boy said Prude, who was at Thursday's hearing for a brief time, opened up the night club and let them and three others inside.
The boy said he went straight to the bathroom with Prude's dog, named Pit Stop, and Prude later weighed it and placed him in the ring, where it fought with Davis' dog, nicknamed Booger.
manuel.gamiz@mcall.com
610-820-6595