Injustice in South Carolina: James Willie Rhodes, 28, convicted in 2012 of animal cruelty, is convicted AGAIN and AGAIN GETS PROBATION!

SOUTH CAROLINA -- A York man accused of fighting pit bull dogs in January was found not guilty of dog fighting and owning animals for fighting by a jury Thursday after a trial this week at the Moss Justice Center, according to prosecutors and court records.

However, the jury did convict James Willie Rhodes, 28, of  FOUR FELONY COUNTS of ill treatment of animals (aka animal cruelty).

Rhodes had been charged with dogfighting, but that charge was dismissed by Magistrate Dan Malphrus Tuesday after Rhodes’ lawyer, Twana Burris-Alcide, argued that Rhodes was trying to separate the dogs from fighting and there was no spectators or gambling.

Rhodes was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered not to have dogs during probation, prosecutors said.

Officers found the sick, dehydrated dogs in January outside a York home. They required immediate medical care. Some of the dogs had bite marks and broken teeth consistent with dog fighting, police said.

Rhodes, who denied all the charges and whose lawyers said previously that he was only trying to separate the dogs and that there were no spectators or gambling, was convicted of animal cruelty in 2012.

Charges against another suspect in the case remain pending, court records show. A third person was charged with obstruction but that charge was dropped to magistrate court.

(heraldonline.com - Dec 3, 2015)

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York County police bust dog fighting ring, rescue five dogs in 'near death' condition
Officials from York County, South Carolina, have busted an active dog-fighting ring at an area near Lincoln Forest Drive and, in the process, managed to rescue five dogs. All the five dogs are pit bulls, and were found in very poor living conditions.

According to a report by the Fox Carolina, all the five dogs were found to be severely dehydrated and hungry. Three people were arrested in connection with the dog-fighting ring bust.

According to Trent Faris, an official from the York County Sheriff’s Office, four of the five dogs were found to be 12 percent dehydrated — which according to him happens to be close to “near death” conditions.

According to WCNC News, the dog-fighting ring was busted after a deputy made an unscheduled visit to the location after someone had called in and reported about a car placed on cinder blocks blocking the road. The deputy, in trying to locate the owner of the car, looked for people nearby. He noticed a house nearby and after hearing unusual noises coming in from there, decided to investigate. He walked around the back of the home and saw that a dog fighting match was in progress.

  

Before he busted the gang, he called in for backup. After backup policemen arrived in a few minutes, the team raided the entire place and managed to arrest the people who were in charge of the place.

The three individuals who have been arrested in connection with the dog fighting case are James Willie Rhodes, Johnny Fred Moore, and Charlina Mae McKinney.

While Rhodes and Moore were charged on suspicion of running the dog fighting ring, Charlina was charged with giving false information to the police.