Oklahoma Man Charged with Operating Large-Scale Dog Fighting and Trafficking Venture [View all]

190 Dogs Seized, Most Ever Seized from a Single Person in a Dog Fighting Case
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma unsealed a grand jury indictment recently charging an Oklahoma man with violations of the dog fighting prohibitions of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Leshon Eugene Johnson, of Broken Arrow, made his initial appearance in court last week. He is charged with possessing 190 pit bull-type dogs for use in an animal fighting venture and for selling, transporting, and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture. Federal authorities seized the 190 dogs from Johnson in October 2024 as authorized under the Animal Welfare Act. This is believed to be the largest number of dogs ever seized from a single person in a federal dog fighting case.

“Animal abuse is cruel, depraved, and deserves severe punishment,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law and will remain committed to protecting innocent animals from those who would do them harm.”

“The FBI will not tolerate criminals that harm innocent animals for their twisted form of entertainment,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI views animal cruelty investigations as a precursor to larger, organized crime efforts, similar to trafficking and homicides. This is yet another push in the FBI's crackdown of violent offenders harming our most innocent.”

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oklahoma-man-charged-operating-large-scale-dog-fighting-and-trafficking-venture

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.oked.37783/gov.uscourts.oked.37783.2.0.pdf