Pentagon Official Pleads Guilty to Dogfighting Charges

Update, September 16, 2024:

On Friday, Sept. 13, Frederick Moorefield Jr., a former Pentagon official, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in animal fighting (specifically dogs) and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. His defendant, Mario Flythe, pleaded guilty in July.

The dogfighting ring with which Moorefield is associated operated in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington. Investigators found that Moorefield had been keeping and training dogs in his Maryland home for more than 20 years.

In a statement released at the time of Moorefield’s guilty plea, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office said that at a dogfight sponsored by Moorefield, “the fight ended only when a dog died or when the owner forfeited the match — either through the dog quitting the fight or the owner ‘picking up’ the dog. In the event that one of Moorefield’s dogs lost a fight but did not die, Moorefield killed that dog. One method of killing employed by Moorefield involved the use of a device consisting of jumper cables connected directly to an ordinary plug. Moorefield plugged the device into a wall socket and attached the cables to the dog, electrocuting it.”

Moorefield faces up to five years in prison. Read the original story below for more information on this case.

Original publish date: October 4, 2023

The Department of Defense filed a criminal complaint charging a Pentagon official with dogfighting, according to records that the Department of Justice unsealed Monday night. Per a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland, Frederick Moorefield Jr., a deputy chief information officer for command, control and communications, was allegedly operating a dogfighting ring under the name “Geehad Kennels.”

He, along with another defendant, Mario Damon Flythe, a barber who is said to have used the name “Razor Sharp Kennels,” were reportedly using an encrypted messaging app to talk about dogs who had died from dogfighting, how to train dogs for the abhorrent practice, and to coordinate and bet on dogfights.

Related article

How to Help the Dogs Saved From the Largest Dog-Fighting Ring in South Carolina’s History

Here’s here you can donate to help these pups — plus who to call if you know more information.

Per the affidavit prepared by FBI Special Agent Ryan C. Daly, Moorefield had been involved in dogfighting for about two decades, The New York Times. The Times reported that, per court records, Anne Arundel County Animal Control “responded in November 2018 to a report of two dead dogs found with wounds and scarring patterns consistent with dogfighting in a plastic bag about six miles from Mr. Moorefield’s house.” The plastic bag also reportedly contained mail addressed to Moorefield.

The press release also states that police “recovered veterinary steroids, training schedules, a carpet that appeared to be stained with blood, and a weighted dog vest with a patch reading ‘Geehad Kennels.’ In addition, law enforcement officers seized a device consisting of an electrical plug and jumper cables, which the affidavit alleges is consistent with devices used to execute dogs that lose dogfights.”

The Times reported that law enforcement also recovered 12 dogs after searching the defendants’ homes on September 6.

Related article

New Pet Parents: Beware The “Dog Daddy”

Why the TikTok personality’s harmful tactics are just plain abuse, according to certified trainers.

As Kinship has reported, dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states, thanks to the  Animal Welfare Act. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it’s not still a huge problem: The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) estimates that “ more than 40,000 people participate in organized dogfighting in the U.S.,” and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)  states that “[dogfighting[ continues to occur in every part of the country and in every type of community.” 

Per the press release, if convicted, Moorefield and Flythe could face up to a maximum of five years “for possessing, training, or transporting animals for participation in an animal fighting venture.”