A repeat felon who sold drugs and fought dogs at his LaGrange home was convicted last week after a three-day trial.
Authorities searched the home of 32-year-old Demetris Deshan Kennedy as part of a monthslong drug investigation into him, prosecutors said.
When they arrived to his house on Bonaventure Drive, investigators found five pit bull mixes chained up in the backyard, Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford said. Three of the dogs had fresh wounds consistent with fighting, and were found tethered with logging chains that weighed more than 10 pounds each.
In a nearby shed, police also discovered dogfighting training paraphernalia, including a homemade treadmill and a spring pole, prosecutors said.
Kennedy was also arrested on drug and weapons charges after authorities seized three guns, body armor, ammunition and 11 ounces of marijuana from inside his home. Two of the firearms discovered were high-capacity, assault-style rifles, police said.
Kennedy, who goes by the nickname “Junt,” was convicted Thursday of three counts of dogfighting, three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of theft by receiving a stolen firearm, and one count of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, authorities said.
“The efforts of these investigators ... to stop this animal abuser and drug dealer make LaGrange a safer community for everyone, including animals,” Cranford said in a statement announcing Kennedy’s conviction. “Dogs should be treated with love as pets, not as gladiators that fight to the death.”
According to authorities, Kennedy has two previous felony convictions in Troup County, including a 2009 conviction for selling cocaine and possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute as well as a 2007 conviction for selling marijuana.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 30.
In other news:
About the Author