TRENTON — A man was found guilty of five counts of dog fighting in a Jones County court late this week, according to officials.
Brian Devon Tucker, 26, of Pollocksville, was found guilty by a jury in Jones County Superior Court of five counts of felony dog fighting, District Attorney Ernie Lee stated in a press release.
Tucker had previously pleaded guilty to 12 counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals and two counts of misdemeanor restraining dogs in a cruel manner.
Lee stated that Tucker was sentenced by Judge Douglas Parsons to four consecutive active sentences of a minimum of six months and a maximum of eight months in the custody of the North Carolina Department of Corrections — a minimum total sentence of 24 months.
In addition, after serving his active sentence, Tucker was sentenced to a minimum of six months and a maximum of eight months suspended for 36 months, and he will be supervised for 36 months.
He was also ordered to receive a psychological evaluation and to not possess any dogs, Lee stated.
Jury deliberation on Wednesday took approximately 45 minutes. The jurors were shown 10 videos of dogs fighting and injured dogs that were found on a camera seized from Tucker by the Jones County Sheriff’s Office in August 2011. The dog fighting occurred near Pollocksville in a wooded area.
The state was represented in the case by Assistant District Attorneys Kelly Neal and Kaelyn Thompson.
“I am very pleased the jury returned verdicts of guilty,” Lee stated. “Sheriff Danny Heath and the Jones County Sheriff’s Office spent many hours investigating this case. The scenes depicted in the videos were disturbing and demonstrated the callous disregard for the dogs and their well-being.”
Lee stated that his office has handled other dog fighting cases in the four-county district of Onslow, Jones, Duplin and Sampson counties.
“It is hoped that the substantial sentence received by this defendant will help serve as a deterrent to others who are engaging in the business of dog fighting,” Lee stated.
“Dog fighting and allowing dogs to be intentionally injured is cruel and cannot be tolerated,” he stated. “This office appreciates the hard work of the Jones County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation of this case.”
“It (dog fighting) is not a sport but is intentional abuse of dogs.”