A Georgia man will be spending a long time behind bars for a ton of cases of animal abuse.
Vincent Lemark Burrell, 57, of Dallas was sentenced to 475 years in prison after he was found guilty of 93 counts of dog fighting and 10 counts of animal cruelty in Paulding County in the metro Atlanta area. State animal crimes resource prosecutor Jessica Rock said via email that it is the longest sentence involving dog fighting a person has received anywhere.
According to the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office, the case started years ago when officers responded to a complaint from an Amazon driver who was concerned about the welfare of the dogs he saw on Burrell’s property. He saw numerous dogs tied up to fence posts on heavy chains. The dogs were chained close to each other but just out of reach, a tactic that reportedly serves to build dog aggression.
On November 8, 2022, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office and the Paulding County Marshal’s Office arrived at the property to execute a search warrant and arrested him. They found 107 dogs, most of which were tied on heavy logging changes in the backyard. They didn’t have access to food or water and most were underweight.
Julia Gomez with USA Today contributed to this article.
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on X and Instagram @miguelegoas and email atmlegoas@gannett.com.
