A Brooklyn man has been indicted on charges he was using ropes, treadmills and other equipment to train pit bulls for fighting. District Attorney Charles Hynes said Tuesday that Leslie Alexander, 39, faces dozens of charges for torturing and injuring animals as well as criminal possession of a weapon. Seven pit bulls were removed from the home, along with a .40-caliber handgun and boxes of ammunition. Hynes said the equipment included 25 dog kennels and scales with rope attachments used to strengthen a dog’s jaws. He said there was also a stick used to break a dog’s grip on another animal or object. “Animal fighting is not a ‘sport.’ It is a barbaric and inhumane practice and a serious crime,” Hynes said in a statement. “If you see or hear anything that sounds like animal fighting, if you see animals with wounds from fighting, or if you hear about a fight being planned, please call my office, Animal Care and Control or the ASPCA, and report it.” Authorities said Alexander’s garage had been converted into a dog-fighting arena. “Dog fighters, my understanding based on my training and experience, rely on a steady stream of new dogs to come in to be trained because obviously some of them don’t make it,” Diane Malone, head of the Brooklyn DA’s Animal Cruelty Unit, told 1010 WINS. Alexander will be arraigned on July 2. If convicted, Alexander faces up to seven years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:49:44 +0000
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