Delaware State Police arrest five suspects in Seaford for allegedly engaging in dog fighting.
State Police and the Delaware Division of Public Health’s Office of Animal Welfare say they responded to a complaint of suspicious activity over the weekend and discovered multiple people around the 26000 block of Lonesome Road actively engaged in dogfighting.
Delaware Animal Services Chief Mark Tobin says these rings are often secluded.
“It’s very secretive," Tobin says. "So finding the information about these events is very hard. I know that we’ve had some in the past, a few years ago I think we had one in Wilmington and then we had another in Newark, but it's not prevalent. This was one of these things that was actively going on in the right place at the right time.”
DSP says the five men — Samuel Foreman, 44, of Whaleyville, MD, Timothy Whaley, 44, of Salisbury, MD, Bryon Briddell, 35, of Berlin, MD, Kevin Land, 47, of Salisbury or Seaford, and Glenn White, 36, of Salisbury or Wilmington — were charged with three felonies each — the ownership and use of animals for fighting, present at a yard for animal fighting, and cruel or unnecessary kills or injuries of any animal.
Tobin adds they are looking for one other suspect who got away.
Each faces up to 3 years in prison for animal cruelty and up to 5 years for animal fighting. All five posted bail on an $18,000 bond from Sussex Correctional Institution - bail conditions include having no contact or ownership of any animals.
“So when they do this event there are cases that it’s videotaped for people throughout the world," he says. "So it can become a very substantial moneymaker for people. And then it could be just entertainment. This is still under investigation but that has been brought to our attention in the past.”
13 of the 14 dogs found on the property are being cared for by the Brandywine Valley SPCA – one died from its injuries. Five are in critical condition, and BVSPCA spokesperson Linda Torelli says some will require significant recovery time.
They are looking for foster families for 11 of the dogs.
