Seven Men have been indicted on federal charges involving a dog-fighting operation according to Bobby Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The 67-count indictment targets the owner of a site used for dog fighting and individuals alleged to have participated in fights at the facility.

The charges date back to March 17, 2018, when Georgia State Patrol troopers and Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens responded to a report of dog fighting and performed traffic stops where they discovered a dog in one of the vehicles that appeared to have been injured while fighting.

Indicted were James Lampkin, aka “Pookie, of Eastman. He is charged with conspiracy to violate the Animal Welfare Act, and 63 counts of possessing and training a dog for purposes of an animal fighting venture. After his arrest, a search warrant of Lampkin’s property was executed where officers found 63 dogs chained in the backyard and seized the animals.

Charges against Lampkin are felonies, and each carries a possible penalty upon conviction of up to five years in prison. Lampkin is also charged with attending an animal fighting venture, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison.

Also indicted were Benjamin Shinhoster, III, of Augusta; Deveon Hood, of Tennille; Xavier Simmons of Sandersville; Andre Archer, of Sandersville; and Joe Ford, of Elgin, S.C. Each is charged with conspiracy to violate the Animal Welfare Act and attending an animal fighting venture.

Dwight McDuffie of Eastman is charged with attending an animal fighting venture.

After the dogs were seized, an animal rescue operation took custody of the dogs and evaluated them for adoption. Except for one animal diagnosed with cancer, all the other dogs were adopted.