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Milwaukee man arrested in suspected dog fighting ring
Busted and seized, a man is now charged with running a suspected dog fighting ring on Milwaukee's north side.
MILWAUKEE - Busted and seized, a man is now charged with running a suspected dog fighting ring on Milwaukee's north side.
This investigation started back in October and last week it led detectives to six dogs. The Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission said the dogs were being kept in deplorable conditions.
The criminal complaint said most of them were found in the 18-degree weather, freezing while surrounded by fecal matter.
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An Instagram account with images of a dog tied to a treadmill, another visibly panting with scars and a fully automated firearm, detectives say the account belongs to 22-year-old Jeffrey Legend Thompson.
Jeffrey Thompson
He's accused of operating a dog fighting ring.
"This guy doesn’t know the first thing about what he’s doing, so to me, that’s even more cruel," MADACC executive director Karen Sparapani said.
She was on scene last week as detectives recovered six pit bulls to be taken to MADACC from this home near 6th and Concordia.
"They had no body fat on them, and they were sitting out in the freezing cold, that their skin had turned purple on the lighter ones," Sparapani said.
Inside, they found another dog chained to a treadmill.
"If they turned on the treadmill, that dog would have a heart attack and die," Sparapani said. "It had nothing to it. It wouldn’t even look up."
Thompson is facing several charges, including second-degree reckless endangering safety, instigation of animal fights - training and eluding an officer.
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He was arrested after leading officers on a high-speed chase and crashing into another car while in a stolen car in the area of north 34th and Villard.
"Animals are becoming more and more livestock in the city of Milwaukee that they are not pets, but they are used for money-making purposes," Sparapani said.
Officers also recovered over 1,200 grams of marijuana from the house and digital scales.
Thompson is in jail on a $3,500 cash bond. He's set to appear in court again next week.