JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New4JAX has obtained new information that sheds light on a suspected dog-fighting investigation involving an alligator.
On Monday, News4JAX was the first to report the arrest of Marquis Lamont Williams, 49, of Jacksonville, who was arrested on a long list of criminal charges involving a suspected dog fighting operation at his Northwest Jacksonville home.
VIDEO | 9-foot alligator, suspected dog-fighting ring found during drug bust in Northwest Jacksonville: JSO
On Thursday morning, News4JAX obtained the arrest report, which listed more specific details about what officers discovered at Williams’ home when they executed a search warrant for narcotics but stumbled upon a suspected dog fighting operation and a 9-foot alligator that was also on the property.
According to the report, Williams surrendered himself following a SWAT callout that ordered him to come out of the home. Williams told officers there were dogs on his property that belonged to a man named Fred, who lives in Georgia. He told officers the dogs were in good health and that he was their caretaker. The arrest report also specifically states that an ongoing investigation before the drug raid revealed that Williams was the only person seen under surveillance who was visiting or occupying the home.
When animal control officers were called to the scene to remove the dogs, they confirmed the presence of what appeared to be dog-fighting paraphernalia. That paraphernalia included:
- Weighted harnesses
- Ivermectin, which is used to treat parasites
- A syringe containing sodium chloride (Sodium chloride can be used to clean dog wounds)
- Zimecterin (Zimecterin is a horse dewormer that has been proven to be fatal when used on dogs)
- Heavy chains
- A cage with weights inside.
- Burn barrels
- Two raccoons in a trap
- Multiple bottles of various medications
- Glass trophy
Further adding to the suspicion of dogfighting were the living conditions of the several dogs found on the property.
According to the arrest report, four dogs were inside skyboxes, and two dogs were tethered by heavy chains that were anchored to a tire axle in the ground. None of the dogs had access to water. According to a veterinarian who was called to the scene, most of the dogs were covered in dried feces and also had skin conditions ranging in severity. One of the dogs could not walk because all four of its paws were severely ulcerated with open wounds.
Some of the dogs had scarring and healing wounds on their face, cheeks, and forearms. A few of the dogs had head wounds with scabs that still had the presence of discharge from the wounds. All of the dogs were heartworm positive with signs of neglect.
The report states the neglect signs included:
- Fleas
- Infections
- Long nails
- Dogs covered in feces and dirt
Authorities executed a search warrant on the vacant property across the street from Williams’ house, where they discovered three more dogs that were being taken care of by Williams. All three were tethered by heavy chains, and all three were in the same shape as the six dogs that were discovered in Williams’ yard, JSO said.
News4JAX reached out to Dr. Jim Crosby for insight on how all those items could be linked to suspected dogfighting. Dr. Crosby is a former JSO police officer who is now regarded as one of the nation’s leading experts on dogfighting investigations and animal cruelty. Dr. Crosby is often called upon by various law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to assist in animal abuse cases.
He explained why the list of items seized as evidence, including the dogs and their living conditions, is being used to identify a suspected dogfighting operation.
“All of this stuff, added together, creates a picture that at the end of the day, can only be filled by the image of dogfighting,” said Dr. Crosby.
That statement was substantiated in the arrest report, where on page five of the report, it states, ‘all these items are considered dogfighting paraphernalia, and many can stand alone as paraphernalia, but the totality of all these items in one place paints a clear picture of dogfighting paraphernalia."
A further search of the property led to the discovery of a 9-foot alligator. According to the arrest report, several bones were on the ground where the alligator was being kept. The report states that it appeared Williams was feeding the alligator raccoons that he had been trapping.
An FWC trapper took the alligator to Gainesville for a necropsy after the gator was trapped and killed. Nothing out of the ordinary was discovered inside the alligator.
JSO told News4JAX the case is still under investigation when asked if detectives were seeking DNA evidence that may suggest the gator could have been fed something other than raccoons.
Dr. Crosby said in all his years of assisting law enforcement in dogfighting cases, he has never come across a case involving an alligator. The reptile’s presence raises questions about whether an alligator would be used to get rid of evidence of dog fighting by feeding a dog that lost a fight to an alligator.
“That’s a new twist. It’s disturbingly creative. There’s no way to know if that’s ever happened before because you wouldn’t find any evidence of it afterwards, but most of the time, they throw the dead animal into a burn barrel or a pit. The alligator brings it to a new level, and that gives us a new definition of Florida Man,” Dr. Crosby said.
Williams is now a defendant in two separate criminal cases that began as a drug investigation. Dr. Crosby said there has always been a link between dogfighting and other crimes, including illegal drug distribution.
“It’s very common to get information on serious crimes and then discover evidence of dogfighting. It’s also common for law enforcement to raid a dogfighting operation and find drugs, guns, and stolen property, and even evidence of gambling tied to dogfighting,” Dr. Crosby said.
Williams is currently facing:
- 9 counts of animal abuse
- 3 counts of promoting dog fighting
- 1 count of illegal possession of an alligator
- 1 count of cocaine possession with intent to sell
- 1 count of opium possession with intent to sell
- 1 count of marijuana with intent to sell
- 1 count of possession of paraphernalia for the manufacture or delivery of illegal drugs
- 1 count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
Williams remains in jail on a $230,000 bond and his next court date is scheduled for July 1.