TX: Men plead not guilty to dogfighting

Men plead not guilty to dogfighting

By LYNN LAROWE TEXARKANA GAZETTE
Posted: March 17, 2017 at 1:01 a.m.



TEXARKANA -- Two men accused of unlawful dogfighting entered not guilty pleas Tuesday at separate hearings in Miller County.

Christopher Tremayne Harper, 26, and Jaquavian Jaqwon Johnson, 18, both appeared before Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson for arraignment. Johnson is charged with unlawful dogfighting, while Harper is charged with unlawful dogfighting and aggravated cruelty to a dog.

Both are scheduled to return to court for pretrial hearings May 9.

Animal control officers received a report Jan. 13 from Miller County dispatchers regarding dogfighting activities on East 11th Street, according to a probable cause affidavit. Officers made contact with two men at East 11th and Louisiana streets. One of the men was in possession of a red-and-brindle pit bull with "ears cut back all the way to its head," the affidavit said.

Cutting the ears off a dog is a dogfighting practice to prevent other dogs from latching onto an ear during a fight.

The dog's owner, who identified himself as Jeremy Brooks but was later identified as Harper, claimed that he bought the canine with its ears already removed, according to the affidavit. The dog yelped when touched on the side of the face, and the owner was given until Jan. 17 to take the dog to a veterinaran for treatment.

Less than an hour later, officers were dispatched to a home in the 2600 block of East 10th regarding dogfighting. Officers observed a large bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the rafters beneath the home's porch canopy, "which is consistent with people who regularly fight dogs," the affidavit said.

A woman approached the officers and began shouting at them and using profanity and told investigators the dogs belong to her son, Jaquavian Johnson, according to the affidavit. Johnson denied his dogs had been fighting, but a white pit bull in his backyard had "bloody punctures on his abdomen, side, back and chest as well as a swollen right cheek and gum on his right muzzle," the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, the dog with the cut ears had not been taken for treatment as of Feb. 1, and officials believe the dog was being neglected.

Both men were arrested in early February. At the time, Johnson was free on a $40,000 bond on charges of residential burglary and theft of property in connection with a Dec. 22 break-in.

Unlawful dogfighting and aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat or horse are punishable by up to six years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both.

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