Man sentenced in dog fighting case

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Alabama (WALA) - A man facing 27 counts of felony dog fighting charges has plead guilty, receiving a 10 year sentence for the crime. Investigators say an anonymous tip led them to Terrance McNeil and the dog fighting "arena".

In June 2008, that tip led the Atmore Police Department and the Humane Society of Escambia County, Alabama to Sunset Drive.

When they got there, they found several vehicles parked outside a trial that led to a thickly forested area. The trail ended at a plywood pit with a carpeted floor, surrounded by makeshift floodlight running off a portable generator.

Investigators also found dog fighting paraphernalia including buckets of water for washing down the pit bulls prior to the fight, scales for weighing the dogs to verify fighting weight, fighting dog pedigrees, and a handgun with two bullets for the losers of the two fights scheduled for that night. Two dogs in crates were also recovered.

McNeil and Johnathon Stallworth were arrested. A grand jury indictment was eventually handed down for Patrice Marshall for felony dog fighting.

Stallworth and Marshall have yet to go to trial.

A raid was conducted on McNeil's residence in September 2008. Twenty dogs were seized, along with seven puppies.

McNeil and Marshall were arrested again, along with Terrell McNeil, McNeil's twin brother, and Shantay Larissa Robinson. All four face 27 counts of felony dog fighting. Each count carries a sentence of one to ten years in prison and/or up to $15,000 in fines for each count.

When McNeil was as if he had anything to say why the sentence of the law should not be imposed upon him, he had nothing to say.