close

Two face hearings in Smithfield dog fighting case

By Alyssa Choiniere achoiniere@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read
article image -

A pit reportedly used for dog fighting in Smithfield contained skeletons of about five dogs, according to testimony in a preliminary hearing at Fayette County Central Court Wednesday.

Regis Leonard Grooms, 33, of Brownsville and Melisha Renee Robinson, 39, of Uniontown were accused of involvement in an alleged dog fighting operation discovered on an isolated property at 251 Church St.

Twenty-three counts of animal fighting filed against both people were dismissed by Magisterial District Judge Michael Metros after a three-hour hearing. Twenty-three counts of possession of animal fighting paraphernalia and 23 summary counts of animal cruelty were held for court.

Edward Harris, 59, of New Bloomfield is also charged in the case. His hearing was continued to a later date.

Grooms allegedly owned a small number of the dogs, and Robinson was reportedly assigned to care for them. Harris was the tenant of the property.

Twenty-nine dogs were found on the property Aug. 1. Three of those were dead. Two more dogs, both puppies, died soon after.

State police Trooper Tonya Wroble testified she found the property while following ATV tracks while investigating an ATV theft the night before. She later obtained a search warrant and found the dogs, some which appeared malnourished and scarred. They were tied without access to water, she said.

Animal Control Officer Gary Hoffman testified he recognized at least one of the dogs on the property as belonging to Grooms. He had taken four dogs into his licensed kennel May 31, and Grooms claimed them June 7, he testified.

Witnesses testified that multiple factors indicated the property was used for animal fighting. Cpl. Michael Spada, the Pennsylvania State Police animal control officer, testified the way the dogs were tied a few feet apart was a tactic to keep dogs “in the game.”

He described several of the animals as “emaciated,” and said some had injuries “consistent with being fought.” He described medications found on the property as “wound kits” including Oxycodone, a prescription pain killer, Dura-Pen, an antibiotic for cattle. He said Oxycodone can be used to spur aggression in dogs. Dura-Pen can also be used to treat dog wounds, he said.

Deborah Jugan, who was tendered as an expert witness in dog fighting, said the tow chains used on the dogs were indicative of a fighting operation.

“You don’t need a heavy tow chain, like for a truck, on a 35-pound dog or to restrain a 35-pound dog. Those chains are there to build up the dog’s back and neck muscles,” she said.

Witnesses said none of the dogs appeared to have recent injuries from dog fighting, several adding that many of the dogs were young. Six witnesses were called to testify Wednesday.

Attorneys David W. Kaiser, who represents Robinson, and Peter John Daley II, who represents Grooms, argued the testimony regarding dog fighting was not tied to their clients.

“Move to dismiss, obviously, judge,” Kaiser said during closing arguments. “There’s absolutely nothing that ties my client to these allegations. I move to dismiss. We’ve been here long enough.”

Daley said the allegations for Grooms were tied “even less” to the case than Robinson’s allegations.

The dismissal of the animal fighting charges removed all felony counts from both cases, leaving 23 third-degree misdemeanors and 23 summary counts for the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas.

Robinson was released from jail in September after posting bond. Grooms remains in jail on a $75,000 bond. He is also facing charges for allegedly fleeing police in December.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $4.79/week.

Subscribe Today