The final defendant in a violent multi-state dogfighting network was sentenced Tuesday to two years and three months in prison for his role arranging dog fights.
Charles Reginald McDougald, aka “Luke” and “Bottom Boy,” 55, of North Carolina, used a messaging app private group referred to as “The DMV Board” or “The Board” to discuss dog fights with like-minded individuals, according to court documents.
The conspirators discussed training fighting dogs, exchanged videos about dogfighting and used the app to arrange and coordinate dog fights from March 2015 through December 2022.
Members of the dogfighting ring also used the app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost fights, circulate media reports about conspirators who had been caught by law enforcement and discuss ways to avoid being caught.
McDougald posted multiple offers to arrange dog fights for thousands of dollars per fight.
Animal welfare advocates are commending the Department of Justice for putting an end to this violent group subject dogs to violence for profit.
“Dogfighting is perhaps the most sickening form of animal cruelty. This long-running criminal operation treated dogs as instruments of bloodsport, subjecting them to unspeakable violence for the sake of gambling and profit,” said Wayne Pacelle, the president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.
“This sentencing marks a major victory for animals and a clear message that this kind of premeditated cruelty has no place in a civilized society.”
McDougald’s sentencing follows the convictions of 19 of his fellow members of the group.
Virginia defendants
- Carlos Harvey, aka “Roc9,” of King George, pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Harvey was sentenced to six months in prison.
- Derek Aaron Garcia, aka “Fatal Attraction,” 40, of Woodbridge, pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Garcia was sentenced to 10 days in prison.
- Tarry Jeron Wilson, aka “Tejai” and “City Limits,” 39, of Warsaw, pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Wilson was sentenced to two years in prison.
- Charles Davis, aka “Cat Daddy” and “Deep in the Game,” 44, of Woodbridge, pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Davis was sentenced to 60 days in prison.
- Mark Rodriguez, aka “Slow Poke,” of Stafford, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Rodriguez was sentenced to 14 days in jail.
Maryland defendants
- Charles Edward Williams, III, aka “Never Say Never,” 50, of Capital Heights, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Williams was sentenced to two years in prison.
- Michael Roy Hilliard, aka “No Dayz Off,” 38, of Fort Washington, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Hilliard was sentenced to six months in prison.
- Laron West, aka “Frog” and “Get Sick,” 46, of Forestville, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. West was murdered on Feb. 12, 2023, prior to sentencing.
- Ricardo Glen Thorne, aka “Rip,” 53, of Camp Springs, Md., pled guilty to advertising an animal for use in an animal fighting venture. Thorne was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
- Eldridge Jackson, aka “Big Head” and “4B,” 48, of Temple Hills, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Jackson was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
- Larry Alston, aka “Big Goon,” 49, of Windsor Mills, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Alston was sentenced to two years in prison.
- Dandre Wallace, aka “Abstract,” 47, of Laurel, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Wallace was sentenced to two years in prison.
- Kevin Jackson, aka “4B1,” 47, of White Plains, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Jackson was sentenced to 10 days in prison.
- Elijah Loatman, aka “Nephew the Genius,” 33, of Elkton, Md., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Loatman was sentenced to 30 days in prison.
- Mario Flythe, aka “the Barber,” 50, of Glen Burnie, Md., pled guilty in U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture and interstate travel or transportation in aid of a racketeering enterprise. Flythe was sentenced to six months in prison.
- Frederick Moorfield, aka “Geehad,” 64, of Arnold, Md., pled guilty in the District of Maryland to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture and interstate travel or transportation in aid of a racketeering enterprise. Moorefield was sentenced to a year and six months in prison.
Other defendants
- Rodriguez Norman, aka “Tough Love,” 31, of Washington, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Norman was sentenced to nine years in prison for bank fraud, cigarette and identity theft charges, and an additional year for the dogfighting conspiracy.
- Bashawn Allen, aka “425,” 35, of Trenton, N.J., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Allen was sentenced to a year and six months in prison.
- Isaac Weathersby, aka “Big Fist” 43, of High Point, N.C., pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture. Weathersby was sentenced to a year and nine months in prison.
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Crystal Graham
