EASTMAN, Ga. — Editor's Note: The video in this story is from the original 2018 report.
Three people involved in an alleged Dodge County dogfighting ring pleaded guilty Wednesday.
According to a news release, they are Benjamin Shinholster, Deveon Hood, and Andre Archer. Shinholster is from Augusta, while Hood and Archer are from Washington County.
Each of the three now faces up to five years in prison, with a significant financial penalty and up to three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
The lead defendant in the case, James Lampkin aka Pookie, is still awaiting trial on his charges, which include 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.
The other three people involved in the case are still awaiting further legal proceedings.
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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