Abused Fighting Dogs Get New Home; Man Wanted In Case

First Posted: 11/30/2006 7:23:17 PM

(Manning) – Clarendon County deputies faced a problem after breaking up a pit bull fighting ring last weekend: they couldn't find any local shelters willing to take the dogs.

Sunday night, deputies got a tip about a dogfight taking place outside a trailer home at 1638 Jackson Road. When they arrived on scene, they found a few dozens people, eight mistreated fighting dogs, and a $4,000 bet.

Lieutenant Tommy Burgess says seven people were arrested that night, and several vehicles were seized as evidence. Deputies say they tried to contact local shelters to take in the animals, but were unsuccessful. Some shelters were too expensive for the Sheriffs Department to afford, and other shelters flat-out refused to take the dangerous pit bulls. Burgess says the eight dogs involved in the fighting—some with lacerations on their head from maulings—had to be left behind.

Manning resident Marc Brewer lives just around the corner from where the fighting had taken place. He says the news of the dog-fighting ring surprised him, as did the fact that deputies left the dogs.

“I think it's terrible because what are you going to do if you're just going to turn them back over [to the suspects’ custody]? It seems pointless to even pursue it in the first place,” Brewer said.

The Attorney General’s office is now prosecuting the case. When Attorney General Henry McMaster heard deputies had done all they could, his task force stepped in to help.

“The dogs are bred and trained to fight and if put out with other dogs, they will fight, so you can't take them to the pound,” McMaster said.

Through the Attorney General’s office and the SLED Task Force on Dog Fighting, authorities contacted shelters capable of handling the fighting dogs. The dogs were taken Tuesday night to the Florence County Animal Control and the Humane Society.

“This is a brutal, vicious, horrible thing that we need to get rid of,” McMaster said of the dog fighting.

Clarendon County deputies say one of the Jackson Road organizers is still at large. 29-year-old Orlando Coullette is wanted for eight counts of dog fighting and one count of cruelty to animals. A second suspected organizer, 22-year-old Jennifer Lyles, turned herself into authorities on Tuesday.

Anyone with information on Coullette’s whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-559 TIPS.