Dog-fighting ring busted

49059769

On the radar of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for a few months, a Grays Ferry’s dog battleground was disassembled Sunday night.

“Our undercover investigative team had been investigating this for many months — greater than six months,” PSPCA spokeswoman Wendy A. Marano said. “Some of the individuals were known to us. We just have to have a full body of evidence to charge these people with charges that would stick.”

The society’s officers had been conducting surveillance and learned Henry Beard, 42, of the Northeast, would allegedly be conducting a dog battle at an unknown location, Detective Danielle Tolliver of South Detective Division said. Officers followed him and others to a rowhome on the 2600 block of Gerritt Street at 8:05 p.m.

Upon hearing what was believed to be the sound of dogs engaged in an organized fight, police knocked on the front door. After someone inside opened the door, officers entered with a warrant to find an active fight between two pit bulls in the second floor, front bedroom, Tolliver said. With blood streaked across the walls, the room was allegedly set up as a ring with apparatus such as break sticks to separate the dogs in the midst of a fight, a weight scale to gauge a dog’s strength and a treadmill. After officers videotaped part of the fight for evidence, they rescued the two canines, who were bleeding from multiple bite wounds. At least one of the dogs is expected to need surgery.

Eight dogs were found inside the home including two adults and two puppies in the dwelling along with another adult in the backyard and one locked in a Chevy Tahoe parked outside the home, Tolliver said.

Some of the dogs were pit bulls and some were mixed breeds, Marano said. Ages and sexes of the canines varied.

“Not all the dogs were active fighters,” she said. “They were part of the ring but had not gotten to that stage especially the puppies.”

Thirteen men were arrested inside the home including Vincent Floyd, 22, of the 3000 block of Mifflin Street, and Daniel Parmegiani, 33, of the 1500 block of South Newkirk Street. Beard also was arrested when officers found him allegedly hiding in the backyard with a jacket over his head.

All 14 men were charged with cruelty to animals and criminal conspiracy.

Three other raids in North Philly resulted from information gained from the Grays Ferry arrestees. Among the four properties, 26 dogs were recovered along with weapons, narcotics and a large sum of money at one of the North Philly spots.

All the dogs are now in protective custody, but will not be available for adoption until after evaluation and the conclusion of the case, Marano said.

“This was a major dog-fighting operation in the city,” the society’s CEO Susan Cosby said in a statement. “Our officers have been working diligently to invest the alleged ring, bring those involved to justice, and rescue the animals and potentially save many more dogs from this senseless and vicious crime.”

Contact Managing Editor Amanda L. Snyder at asnyder@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.

Also in this week’s Police Report:
Double trouble
Arrested again
Knockdown robbery
Grounded and robbed
Police district meetings

28043647