TEXARKANA -- One of two men charged in connection with illegal dogfighting earlier this year in Miller County has pleaded guilty.
Jaquavian Jaqwon Johnson, 19, and Christopher Tremayne Harper, 27, appeared Monday before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones. Johnson accepted a plea offer from the state while Harper asked his case be set for trial.
Johnson pleaded guilty to unlawful animal fighting. He was put on probation for five years and must pay a $1,000 fine. He also must pay $5,240 in restitution to the Animal Care and Adoption Center of Texarkana for boarding and veterinary expenses, and is prohibited from owning an animal while on probation.
Johnson also agreed to forfeit ownership of any of the abused dogs.
Harper remains charged with unlawful animal fighting and aggravated cruelty to a dog. Both of the offenses are punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
Harper indicated Monday he wants a jury to decide his case. He was scheduled to go to trial in February.
Animal control officers received a report about 1 p.m. Jan. 13 from Miller County dispatchers regarding people fighting dogs on East 11th Street, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
Officers made contact with two men at East 11th and Louisiana streets. One of the men was in possession of a red-and-brindle pit bull with "ears cut back all the way to its head," the affidavit said.
Cutting the ears off of a dog is a practice among owners of fighting dogs who don't want other dogs to latch onto an ear during a fight.
The dog's owner, who identified himself as Jeremy Brooks but was later identified as Harper, claimed he bought the dog with ears already removed, the affidavit said. The dog yelped when touched on the side of the face, and the owner was given until Jan. 17 to take the dog to a vet for treatment.
Less than an hour later, officers were dispatched to a home in the 2600 block of East 10th regarding dogfighting. Officers saw a large bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the rafters beneath the home's porch canopy, "which is consistent with people who regularly fight dogs," the affidavit said.
A woman approached the officers and began shouting at them and using profanity, and told investigators the dogs belong to her son, Jaquavian Johnson, according to the affidavit.
Johnson denied his dogs had been fighting, the affidavit said, but a white pit bull in his backyard had "bloody punctures on his abdomen, side, back and chest as well as a swollen right cheek and gum on his right muzzle." According to the affidavit, the dog with the cut ears hadn't been taken for treatment as of Feb. 1 and officials believe the dog was being neglected.
NW News on 10/26/2017