Georgia man sentenced to nearly 500 years for facilitating dog fights, abusing animals

A Georgia man was sentenced last week to 475 years in prison for facilitating dog fights and abusing animals, which included 107 dogs seized at his property in November 2022, authorities said.

It’s the longest-known sentence involving dog fighting anywhere, state animal crimes resource prosecutor Jessica K. Rock, also a special assistant United States attorney based in Georgia, said by email Monday.

Rock said by email that defendant Vincent Lemark Burrell, 57, denied in court being involved in dog fighting. It wasn’t clear if Burrell would appeal. His attorney did not immediately respond to a voicemail message Monday evening.

The case launched in 2022 when an Amazon delivery worker reported to authorities that several dogs were tied up with heavy chains on the defendant’s property in Dallas, Georgia, about 30 miles west of Atlanta.

On Nov. 8, 2022, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office deputies, local marshals and Rock were on hand to search to the property with a judge’s permission, according to the prosecutor and officials’ statements.

Sheriff’s officials said in a statement at the time that the dogs were pit bulls, though canines described as such are often mixed-breed. In a statement Thursday, the district attorney’s office did not mention a single breed.

Prosecutors ultimately alleged 107 dogs were on the grounds with signs of abuse, including some observed as underweight — with the grounds apparently lacking food, water and shelter — and many dogs restrained with logging chains in close proximity, “a tactic that serves to build dog aggression,” the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office said in its Thursday statement.

Burrell was arrested the day of the search based on allegations of facilitating dog fights and animal cruelty, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said in its own statement after the search.

Another group of dogs among the 107 at the property was found in a basement living with urine and feces on the ground, the sheriff’s office said.

There was evidence at Burrell’s property linking the defendant to dog fighting, the DA’s office said in a statement Thursday. The evidence allegedly included a treadmill designed for dogs, a breeding stand, a break stick “used to pry open the jaws of a dog during a fight,” documents linked to other “known dog fighters,” a first aid kit for injured dogs, veterinarian-only medication and sales contracts for dogs.

Prosecutor said in the statement that a veterinarian examined the dogs and found some with removed teeth and scars from fighting.

The canines were seized by the county under a federal warrant and were ultimately taken in by a nonprofit, Friends of the Forlorn Animal Rescue, according to NBC affiliate 11 Alive of Atlanta.

Among the dogs found was Baby Shark, 8 weeks old at the time, authorities said. In photos with prosecutors last week, she showed off her adult size and smile. Rock alleged Baby Shark was one of the dogs intended for illegal fighting.

“He was breeding them for the purpose of dog fighting and so she would’ve ended up in that life had we not taken her from him,” she said by email.

Superior Court Judge Dean C. Bucci sentenced Burrell to 475 years based on his conviction by a jury last week on 93 counts of dog fighting and 10 counts of cruelty to animals.

“The judge sentenced him to the maximum amount allowed by law,” Rock said.