Two years after authorities seized 107 dogs from his property, a 57-year-old Georgia man named Vincent Lemark Burrell has been sentenced to 475 years in prison. He was found guilty of 93 counts of dog fighting and 10 counts of cruelty to animals. This makes it the longest sentence ever given for dog fighting in history.
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According to NBC News, this dog-fighting case started back in 2022. Then, an Amazon worker reported that several dogs were chained at Burrell’s property in Dallas, Georgia. Prosecutors later revealed that Paulding County Sheriff’s Office deputies found 107 dogs.
They displayed signs of abuse, with some appearing underweight. Some others were restrained with logging chains, which increases dog aggression, according to the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office.
“The dogs were chained close to each other but just out of reach, a tactic that serves to build dog aggression,” the DA’s office wrote in a press release. Moreover, according to PEOPLE, the dogs did not have access to food or water. At the property, officers also found equipment linked to dog fighting. These include a live chicken, a breeding strand, a dog treadmill, and a break stick.
The condition of the dogs was even worse than that. Some of them were housed in the property’s basement which was filled with urine and feces. “Authorities had to wear protective equipment just to be able safely enter the home,” reads a Paulding County Sheriff’s Office press release. “Conditions where dogs were being housed, both inside and on the exterior of this property, were not fit for humans, much less dogs.”
A veterinarian later discovered rashes and scarring patterns that were “consistent with dog fighting. “Several of the dogs had teeth that had been forcibly removed from their mouth,” reads the prosecutor’s press release.
Vincent Lemark Burrell was found guilty of 93 counts of dog fighting and 10 counts of cruelty to animals. On Thursday, January 30, he was sentenced to 475 years in prison. The dogs were seized by authorities and were taken in by Friends of the Forlorn Animal Rescue, according to WXIA.
Prosecutor K.C. Pagnotta said that cases such as Burrell’s should cause society to “step up” to prevent further animal abuse. “Ordinary citizens can play a part in stopping the abuse of animals by recognizing signs of dog fighting and reporting concerns to law enforcement,” Pagnotta said.
