Former Cardinals running back sentenced to 5 years for dogfighting ring
LeShon Johnson, a former Cardinals running back, got five years in federal prison for running a massive dogfighting ring.
Running back LeShon Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals moves the ball during a game against the New York Jets at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Jets won the game, 31-21. (Photo: Stephen Dunn/All Sport)
(Photo: Stephen Dunn/All Sport)
Former Arizona Cardinals running back LeShon Johnson was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his involvement in a dogfighting ring based out of Oklahoma on Sept. 10.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, 190 pit bulls were recovered from Johnson’s property. It was the largest number of dogs seized from a single person in a federal case.
To go along with the prison time, Johnson will be required to pay a $30,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release, according to the Department of Justice.
Johnson’s incidents with dogfighting span back as far as 2004, when he first pled guilty to dogfighting offenses in Oklahoma.
He started running his own operation in 2007, where he would breed and sell fighting dogs to rings across the country.
“As Johnson was well aware, dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states,” Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said in a news release. “To anyone attempting to build violent and illicit business schemes: you can run, but you can’t hide from the Department of Justice.”
Johnson played for the Cardinals from 1995-97. His best season came in 1996 where he rushed for 634 yards and three touchdowns.
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Comments
2 Comments
Deserves the death penalty! Can you imagine the pain and neglect these innocent animals felt. And yes, I used to work with Pit Bulls, who are some of the most loving and loyal companion animals on the planet. Abused dogs of any breed can and will become viscious.
I guess I will never comprehend the attraction of throwing aggressive animals into a cage and letting them fight until one is dead or severely maimed nearly to the point of euthanasia. Sick minds.