Officials in LeFlore County are appealing to the public for information concerning a possible dog fighting operation possibly operating in a rural area around Fort Coffee.
LeFlore county undersheriff Kendall Morgan said in a telephone interview on Friday that tips and information relayed to the LeFlore County sheriff’s office indicate that pit bulls are being trained in and transported from Fort Smith to participate in the illegal activities.
He also said numerous reports throughout the area concerning missing pets could be linked to the operation as well.
“We’re hearing that not only some breeders and those bringing dogs over to fight are out of Fort Smith, but that a lot of the dogs that are reported as missing over there are being used as trainers or ‘bait dogs,’ ” said Morgan.
Morgan says the sheriff’s office has been actively trying to track down leads to the point of going undercover to expose the fights. He said the recent arrest of a man in LeFlore County for impersonating a police officer may have eliminated any element of surprise law enforcement may felt they had in the case.
“A little while back, we had an undercover officer in the area where we think the activities are going on who was stopped by a guy who claimed to be a police officer,” said Morgan. “We feel like he was pulling people over in the area just to find out who they were. Kind of a look out for the operation.”
Morgan said from tips and information the police have been receiving law enforcement feels the operation is being organized and patronized by African American and Asian suspects and is not a small time enterprise.
“We have tried to set them up a number of times and this investigation has been going on for weeks now,” said Morgan. “The always seem to just be a new jumps ahead of us. Information is that this is a former cockfighting fighting pit they have converted for dog fighting. It’s a big time operation with illegal betting being a big element.”
“At this point they know we’re looking for them, so we are appealing to the public to contact us with any information they may have about these activities,” said Morgan. “They are aware of us, so we’re not going to sneak up on them so we are looking for some help from what I like to call the ‘public police’. The public is out there and they have a lot more eyes and ears than we do.”
Convictions for cruelty to animal charges can be considered a felony punished by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary not exceeding five years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding $5,000.00. Any animal so maltreated or abused shall be considered an abused or neglected animal and in some cases dog fighting can be commiserate with animal cruelty sanctions.
“We need to shut this down,” said Morgan. “And we need to get these people off the streets.”
If you have any information about illegal dog fighting, please contact the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Department at (918) 647-2317.
Dennis W. McCaslin
Dennis McCaslin has been a longtime news and sports reporter for several media outlets in the Fort Smith area. He has also been a well known radio personality and play-by-play announcer for several years prior to joining InsideFortSmith.Com. He is the voice of the ArklahomaSports High School Game of the Week. E-mail: dennis@greatplainsdigital.com
