EASTMAN, Ga. — The lead defendant in an alleged Dodge County dogfighting ring pleaded guilty this week.
According to a news release, 46-year-old James Lampkin aka 'Pookie' will now spend up to five years in prison, along with fines and up to three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Lampkin was originally charged with 63 counts of possessing and training a dog for the purposes of animal fighting – one count for each dog seized from his Eastman property in March 2018. His guilty plea was to a single charge of conspiracy to violate the Animal Welfare Act.
“Animal fighting is cruel and barbaric, and has no place in our society – and it is particularly unwelcome in the Southern District of Georgia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our vigilant law enforcement partners shut down Lampkin’s brutal operation and rescued dozens of animals from a life of pain and misery.”
Six other people have already pleaded guilty in the case; five are awaiting sentencing (Benjamin Shinhoster III, 41, of Augusta; Deveon Hood, 34, of Tennille; Andre Archer, 23, of Sandersville; Xavier Simmons, 34, of Sandersville; and Joe Ford, 33, of Elgin, S.C.) and the sixth (Dwight McDuffie, 44, Eastman) received two years in probation, 150 hours of community service, and is prohibited from owning animals.
The investigation began when Georgia State Patrol troopers and DNR wardens were conducting traffic stops in Dodge County. In one of the stops, they found a dog that appeared to be injured from fighting.
Investigators then executed a search warrant at Lampkin’s home and found over five dozen dogs chained in the backyard.
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