This *SUCKS* ~ Vick FREE with NO BOND Posted till Nov 26 Trial
:mad:
Vick, and the other three vermin, were allowd to leave Court
with NO BOND required from any of the four. :mad:
The Story >>>
Vick pleads not guilty to dogfighting charges
Falcons QB, 3 others, released conditionally without bond until Nov. 26 trial
RICHMOND, Va. - Michael Vick pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal dogfighting accusations and was released conditionally without bond until a Nov. 26 trial.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three others entered their pleas in U.S. District Court to conspiracy charges involving competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting the enterprise across state lines. Federal prosecutors allege the operation — known as Bad Newz Kennels — operated on Vick’s property in Surry County.
U.S. Magistrate Dennis Dohnal, in releasing the defendants without bond, said the judicial system is grounded on the principle that a defendant is innocent until proven guilt “no matter how heinous the allegations may be.”
WAY to GO (NOT) "Magistrate" Dohnal! :mad:
Chicago: Starving Dogs Found In Dogfighting Sting
Thank goodness for this anonymous tipster!
_______________________
Starving Dogs Found In Dogfighting Sting
Two Men Arrested; Emaciated Pit Bulls Seized
POSTED: 10:07 am CDT July 26, 2007
UPDATED: 1:08 pm CDT July 26, 2007
BURBANK, Ill. -- An anonymous tip led Burbank police to a van full of caged, lethargic dogs stacked atop one another and headed to dog fights across the country, Burbank police said.
The four pit bull terrier pups that were near death and eight emaciated and thirsty adult pit bulls were taken Sunday to the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge, police said.
The two men in the panel van, accused of transporting the dogs, were taken to jail, where they remained Wednesday, unable to post $150,000 bail each, authorities said.
An officer said some of the dogs suffered burns on their paws from standing in their own urine, and some of the dogs were nearly blind.
"The puppies they had to give IVs to right away, or they would have been dead in a few hours," he said.
The dogs never were let out of their cages during transport and were left standing in their own waste, he said.
Brian James Bailey, 48, of Marion, Texas, and Tony Self, 35, of Stone Mountain, Ga., were charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty and dogfighting, police said.
"According to their logs, they travel throughout the country, mostly the east, picking up and dropping off the dogs for fighting," the officer said. "There's no way he's getting them back."
The men had made a stop at a Chicago location prior to stopping to refuel at a Burbank gas station about 8:30 p.m., according to police. It was unclear if the men were going to make other stops in the area.
Elliott Serrano, community outreach specialist with the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago, said many gamble on dog fights.
"The allure of dogfighting is the excitement and the violence," he said. "It triggers off that hormone in the brain that when you see live combat, it gives you a thrill."
Serrano compared dogfighting to a "last man standing match."
"In a fight, the animals are compelled to brutalize each other until their opponent is no longer able to fight," he said.
Dogfighting in Chicago is becoming associated with a culture of drugs and gangs. But the activity has existed for hundreds of years.
"It is a culture. It is a way of life to a lot of these folks," Serrano said. "Some people get into dogfighting because that's their way of exerting power and control and getting what they perceive as respect."
Bailey has been in similar trouble in Texas where he had 88 pit bulls seized at the site of a dog fight on his property in Marion, Texas, in 2005, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Texas.
Of those dogs, at least 40 of the adults showed signs that they were used or trained to fight, the news release said, and they were destroyed.
The appropriate fate of pit bulls who have been trained for fighting is a topic for debate among animal rescuers and anti-cruelty advocates, Serrano said.
The Anti-Cruelty Society would never try to adopt out a pit bull used in fighting. But rescuers have taken dogs from fighting situations and tried to find homes for them.
"It's the classic nature versus nurture argument," he said.
Copyright 2007, Sun-Times News Group
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