Plant City man arrested on dog-fighting charges released

A man arrested Tuesday afternoon on 22 charges related to dog fighting was released from jail early this morning after posting $45,000 bail.

Six adult pit bulls and two hound-mix puppies were seized when James Craig Jenkins Jr., 32, was arrested at his Plant City home, Hillsborough County Animal Services said.

Jenkins faces 24 charges, Hillsborough County Jail records show. All except two relate to dog fighting.

The charges include having equipment for animal fighting and possession of animals for fighting, records show. He also faces two misdemeanor drug charges.

Some of the dogs had missing teeth, puncture wounds, skin issues and neurological damage, said Marti Ryan, an Animal Services spokeswoman.

The pit bulls will be evaluated by a team trained to assess fighting dogs before a decision is made about whether they can be adopted. Seized fighting dogs are not automatically euthanized, Ryan said.

Investigators also seized animal medications, stolen guns and cash from the home, at 1301 Peregrine Drive.

Jail records show no charges related to the guns.

The medications are used to nurse and treat the wounds of injured dogs and to give them energy to fight, Ryan said.

Investigators found records of fights Jenkins officiated, with some fights lasting more than an hour, Ryan said.

Video of dogfights were also found in the home, she said.

"These videos are painfully graphic," Ryan said. "It's difficult to watch; it's difficult to listen to."

The agency has been investigating the case for two years.

Jenkins is an unemployed truck driver, Ryan said.

Dog fighting is a large, shadowy but highly organized activity that comes with champion rankings, tracking of blood lines and a codified rule book, said Chris Schindler, head of animal-fighting law enforcement for the Humane Society of the United States.

"Actually it is a much bigger network than people realize. It's very lucrative and not something localized," he said. "People cross state lines for fights."

A dog that has won several fights can net a prize of $50,000 per bout and each of its pups can be worth thousands of dollars. People will travel across the country to breed their dog with a highly ranked dog, and stud fees can reach $2,000, Schindler said.

People involved in dog fighting stock large supplies of medications to treat a dog after a fight.

Dog fighting has its own rulebook that cover everything from pit size to how far apart dogs are at the start. Referees oversee fights to provide an impartial declaration of the winner.

There was even a magazine that ranked dogs and tracked results and bloodlines until the publisher was arrested on dog-fighting charges.

"For these guys, it's all about exploiting the dogs for money," said Schindler, whose job is to help law enforcement make cases against dog fighters.