Posted on 12/03/2004 11:22:35 AM PST by upchuck
A Charleston man accused of breeding and training dogs for underground fights will spend the next 30 years of his life in a cage.
David Tant, labeled by prosecutors as the No. 2 breeder of fighting pit bulls, submitted a guilty plea Monday two days into his jury trial. He had maintained his innocence since his arrest in April, but admitted Monday that he not only bred dozens of pit bulls for fighting, but that he also created a destructive device that injured a railroad surveyor who stumbled onto his property.
An investigation into the surveyor's injury led to the discovery of numerous pit bulls on the property, as well as tools used to train the animals for fighting.
Many of these items - such as treadmills, cattle prods and a "rape box" designed to restrain dogs that are too aggressive for natural breeding - were on display in the courtroom during Tant's change of heart.
"This looks like a chamber of horrors," said S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, whose office prosecuted the case. "If there were humans being put through this, it would be a capital case.
This is a torture chamber of animals. It is barbaric and cruel beyond description."
The jury saw less than two full days of witness testimony, but the evidence presented was powerful. One juror was moved to tears Saturday after watching a videotape recording of an illegal dogfight.
"It was horrible," another juror said Monday after Tant's plea was entered.
Prosecutor William Frick said even more damning evidence waited in the wings. Tant was in the habit of recording his telephone conversations, and the state planned to let the jury hear some of these talks.
The tape includes discussions with potential customers from the Czech Republic and the Philippines, as well as a complaint from a buyer who was assured a winning dog from Tant's stable.
The evidence overwhelmingly showed that the defendant was not the innocent animal breeder he claimed, Frick said.
"He had no other purpose for those dogs," he said. "They were specifically bred and trained for dog fighting."
Tant faced 41 charges of criminal animal fighting and one charge of assault and battery with intent to kill. Many of these charges were dismissed as part of his guilty plea, and the most potentially serious - one count of assault and battery with intent to kill - was reduced to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
He received a total of 30 years in prison — 10 for creating the booby trap that injured the surveyor, 20 for four counts of criminal animal fighting.
He also faces an additional 10 years in prison for criminal animal fighting if he fails to make restitution for the care of the animals confiscated by investigators, medical expenses for the man injured on his property and the cost of moving the trial from Charleston to Greenwood County.
These expenses are expected to exceed $150,000.
The S.C. Attorney General's Office was adamant that Tant receive the harshest possible sentence. Jennifer Evans, one of the prosecutors in the case, called dogfighting "a heinous sport and a heinous criminal activity."
Steve Baker, who was injured by the shotgun-shell powered booby trap on Tant's land, was one of those who wanted Tant to spend as much time in prison as the law would allow.
"I don't think anyone should have to go through what I've been through," Baker said. "I don't want to be around any of this stuff again."
Others saw the trial as an opportunity to make a statement about the consequences for criminal animal fighting in South Carolina.
"Dogfighting is not really on the decline. There's as much dogfighting as there ever has been," said Robert Carlson, the Charleston veterinarian who examined the animals confiscated from Tant. "We need to hang them - hang them high and hang them publicly - so we really make a statement about this."
Not everyone was lining up to demonize Tant. His family and attorney asked for leniency, portraying him as a family man and the primary care provider for ailing parents.
"A severe sentence for a man his age is a life sentence," said Tant's attorney Dale Cobb. "Having plead guilty, he should receive the mercy of the court."
"I don't know what's going to happen with my mother and father's care without him," sister Linda Tant said prior to sentencing. "We know he's made a mistake - he's a good man, he's not the bad man he appears through all of this."
While the final sentence was a small portion of the 205 years faced by Tant, McMaster said the punishment fit the crime.
"I think it's a serious sentence and sends a serious message," he said. "Mr. Tant didn't show those dogs any mercy."
30 years is about right.
Thank you for your post. I appreciate the fact that someone else could talk about what great dogs they are. I wish more people were like you and put the blame on the minority of owners who train the dogs to be dangerous.
I was not trying to demonize the Presa Canarios. That is honestly the last thing I wanted to imply. I was trying to show how the media initiall said that it was a Pit bull that attacked the woman. They often falsely report other dog attacks as Pit bull attacks. You are correct that owning a powerful dog takes more responsibility. But a responsible owner will make the likelyhood of an attack almost non-existent.
I'll have to disagree with you on this one, Hair. I've been around FAR more even tempered lovable Pits than not. I think the unfortunate thing is that when they DO bite, they can do some serious damage, due to the physical characteristics.
I'm an Australian Shepherd person and I'll be the first to tell you that there's not much worse than a mean or fear-biting Aussie, but when they bite, they don't kill anyone.
There are certain LINES of any dog that have been bred without regard to temperment, and some even FOR their aggressive temperments, and those LINES of dogs can be unstable as well as dangerous.
Again, irresponsible breeders, irresponsible owners.
By and Large, Pits are nice dogs. The few that we hear about in the news gives them all a bad name.
It is a myth that pits exert more pressure per bite than other dogs. This has been disspelled by reputable veterinary scientists. There is nothing in a pit's jaw anatomy different from another breed that would enable it to do such. It is no myth that once they latch on they don't let go. This is not from anatomical structure. It is a characteristic of the breed's tenacity to persevere.
A lot of "mixed" dogs are labeled as pits as well due to ignorance.
And pit bulls are NOT frequently used as police dogs, that would be a notable rarity in a field where the majority are German or Belgian shepherd dogs. Recognize it for what it is. PC BS from breeders who would LOVE to change the dog's image, way ahead of the facts. They hope if they say it, they can make it true. But these happy pit bull people represent a tiny percentage of the actual breeders of these dogs, frantically tilting at windmills.
The AKC page for Staffordshires, last time I looked, also says they are "Particularly good with children". Do you know the Labrador page at AKC actually warns against Labradors for small children because they can be too rambunctious? Now who is looking out for the best interests of the actual families involved?
http://www.deviantart.com/view/11454716/
I understand washing your dog to remove any poison. I can also understand showing you have nothing up your sleeve but couldn't they just put poison on their pants? Turn? Scratch?
I just knew this was going to be about pit bulls. Glad he got the jail time.
The test group is what is skewed. AKC show people are the ones who take those tests, they are pushing the pit bull agenda, and push for dogs to take these tests at shows to improve their image. They don't represent the average pit bull, the aggressive ones don't make it to the show ring.
What a vile bastard. I would love to get a chance to go at him with the weapons God gave me and my dogs: teeth and nails.
I disagree with the ~concept~ that a dog created to fight to the death makes a better choice, as a breed, than those bred to be companion animals. If breeding means nothing, why is no one training Pit Bulls to point and retrieve Pheasant?
It is a shame that Pit bulls have image problems and that they are even blamed for things done by other breeds. At least their are people like us who will try to tell people the honest truth about the breed. The negative image of the breed is formed out of ignorance, and it is fueled by evil criminals who use the breed's good attributes of loyalty and turn them into ferocity to make money, or for some sick enjoyment. No breed of dog is a bad dog breed. Pit bulls are a great dog breed. All the major problems on the planet are caused by people. Too many people in this country want to blame animals for the depravity of people. These are the same people who want to blame inanimate objects such as TV, guns, books, the internet, rock music for the fact that people are depraved. They wanted to blame rock music because some evil, psychotic people with irresponsible parents murdered their classmates in Colorado. Everyone wants to defer responsibilty from the people we should be blaming. I'm more worried about what people are doing to society, than what one breed of dog is doing. Some people really are clueless.
Oh, no worries! I didn't think you were demonizing the PCs, I was just agreeing that press really did a hatchet job on that breed.
I didn't know they'd first reported them as pits, though. I'm not surprised. People love their symbolic enemies.
"Oh, no worries! I didn't think you were demonizing the PCs, I was just agreeing that press really did a hatchet job on that breed."
They definetly do a hatchet job on the PCs and some other types of mastiffs. Some areas near me were even trying to ban them along with Pit bulls. The media loves dog attacks for some reason, and they are good at inspiring these ignoramuses in city councils across the nation.
http://members.aol.com/radogz/find.html
If Pitbulls are so gentle and kind, why is it that dog-fighters love to breed them? I don't see any German Shepherds or Labs being bred to fight... just pitbull variants.
It seems pretty logical that if you're breeding fighting dogs, you'd want the most aggressive and vicious dog you could find. And, lo and behold, the majority of dog-fighters look for pitbulls to train. This must be a case of TERRIBLE ignorance on the part of dog-fighters, because I'm led to believe that pitbulls are kind, gentle, kid-loving dogs. Hmmm.
On top of being sadistic, dog-fighters must also be unerringly stupid, to keep breeding the same type of dog for fighting, all the time, all over the nation. You'd think someone would tell them that pitbulls are nice, gentle, kid-loving dogs, but they keep looking for pitbulls to fight.
Looks like this sub-human even hurt innocent people, according to the article. Read it. That was how he was caught finally. He was guilty of much more than just fighting dogs.
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