Dog Fighters Sentenced
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 02, 2010 |
A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on June 1, 2010, WILLIAM BERRY, 35, of Lebanon, Illinois; DERRICK L. COURTLAND, 43, of Centreville, Illinois; JOHN BACON, 37, of Fairview Heights, Illinois; JULIUS JACKSON, 41, of East St. Louis, Illinois; JOSEPH ADDISON, 41, of East St. Louis, Illinois; JAMES MILBURN, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois; and RICKY STRINGFELLOW, 37, of Centreville, Illinois, were sentenced for their involvement in conspiracy to commit unlawful activities of dog fighting, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 371. The violation took place between November 18, 2008 and at least, April 18, 2009 in St. Clair County, Illinois. This is the second of two indictments for dog fighting brought in the Southern District of Illinois.
WILLIAM BERRY was sentenced to a term of one year and one day of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. DERRICK L. COURTLAND was sentenced to a term of 18 months' incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. JOHN BACON was sentenced to a term of 16 months' incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. JULIUS JACKSON was sentenced to a term of 18 months' incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. JOSEPH ADDISON was sentenced to a term of 24 months' incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. JAMES MILBURN was sentenced to one year and one day of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. RICKY STRINGFELLOW was sentenced to 12 months' incarceration followed by three years of supervised release. All of the defendants were ordered to pay a $100 special assessment and to pay restitution to the Humane Society of Missouri for the care of the seized pit bulls.
Headed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, this dog fighting investigation is the latest in a series of major animal fighting investigations conducted throughout the country since the passage of the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, signed into law in May 2007, which makes it a felony to participate in the blood sport. Participating in the investigation were the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Humane Society of Missouri, the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Hudson and Mike Thompson.