Twenty-nine dogs were removed Wednesday, July 23, from a property in DeLand where a suspect is accused of running a dog-fighting operation.
Jason Bigger, 48, was arrested and charged with 29 felony counts of animal cruelty and 29 felony counts of baiting and fighting animals by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Animal Enforcement and Agricultural Marine Unit.
The unit, along with the Lake County S.W.A.T. team, executed a search warrant in a raid of the property at approximately 4:49 a.m. July 23.
While searching the home, detectives found the 29 dogs, ranging in age from puppies to older animals confined to kennels, who had scarring that is “consistent with dog fighting and were in various stages of healing,” according to a Facebook post by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Bigger was also charged with possession of marijuana and tampering with evidence, which are also felonies. He is being held at the Lake Correctional Facility on $150,000 bond awaiting arraignment.
The dogs were removed to the Lake County Animal Shelter.
Anyone with information of Bigger’s alleged dog fighting activities is advised to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 352-343-2101 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand man accused of running dog-fighting ring charged with animal cruelty
Reporting by Colleen Michele Jones, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
