NY Man Sent To Prison For Burning 13 Pit Bulls To Death
A New York man who trained pit bulls to fight and then allegedly set fire to their pen in his garage, resulting in the death of 13 dogs, was sentenced to prison on Monday. Anthony Reddick, 53, admitted that he illegally trained the pit bulls to fight, and when first responders found his garage on fire last February, they found dog fighting paraphernalia in addition to the 13 dead dogs. The dogs, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, were aged two and a half months to five years old. Officials ruled that the pit bulls had been killed in the fire by burning to death.
New York fire officials did find three dogs still alive. Reddick was sentenced to three years in prison and he is not legally allowed to own any animal for 15 years. The maximum sentence for animal cruelty in Nassau County is four years, and prosecutors sought the max penalty. According to a report in Newsday, in August, Reddick plead guilty to animal fighting and for breeding the dogs for fighting, which are both felonies. He also pleaded guilty to charges of possessing dog fighting paraphernalia, which is a misdemeanor.
New York District Attorney for Nassau County Kathleen Rice released a statement in regards to the case and Reddick’s sentence.
“The utter disregard for the safety and dignity these animals shown by this defendant is truly shocking. Though nothing will ever erase their terrible suffering, with this sentence we are helping to ensure that he will no longer be a threat to animals for a significant period of time.”
Police found one of the live dogs in Reddick’s residence, and the pit bull had facial scarring indicative of dog fighting. Assorted restraints, collars and training tools were found in the garage and in Reddicks’ residence. The issue of illegal pit bull training for dog fights has been a hot topic in recent years due to the high-profile arrest of NFL quarterback Michael Vick in 2007 for not only dog fighting, but of killing the dogs once they were no longer of use in the fighting circuit. Interestingly enough, Vick now plays for the New York Jets, who play their games not far from Reddicks’ home.
Pit bulls and fire seem to be the story this summer. In August, a Michigan mailman came across a house fire and, as reported in The Inquisitr, risked his life–and of being bitten–to save the pit bulls. Earlier in the summer, a pit bull in Indianapolis rushed into a burning home to alert a deaf boy who was napping. Both stories had much happier endings than the one in New York.
Do you think Anthony Reddick’s punishment is enough for him killing 13 pit bulls?
