{"id":86908,"date":"2026-11-02T23:37:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T04:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=86908"},"modified":"2026-11-02T23:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T04:37:10","slug":"26-arrested-with-four-from-florida-in-hart-county-dogfighting-ring-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/11\/02\/26-arrested-with-four-from-florida-in-hart-county-dogfighting-ring-bust\/","title":{"rendered":"26 Arrested With Four From Florida in Hart County Dogfighting Ring Bust"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On Friday, October 30, 2026, just before 11:30 p.m., a Hart County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy responded to the end of Jim Heard Road in reference to vehicles parked in the roadway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon arrival, the deputy observed multiple vehicles parked along both sides of the roadway and could hear dogs barking and growling from a wooded area nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the deputy walked up a drive leading into the wooded area, he discovered multiple additional vehicles. The deputy observed dog crates in the back of some of the vehicles, several of which appeared to have blood on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While walking up the path, the deputy encountered three males. Upon seeing the deputy, the individuals turned and attempted to flee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deputy was able to take one male into custody while numerous other individuals fled on foot into the surrounding woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional law enforcement units responded to assist, including deputies from the Elbert County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Franklin County Sheriff\u2019s Office, and an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation\u2019s Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hart County Sheriff\u2019s Office deployed its drone to assist in locating the fleeing individuals. With the assistance of three K9 units and two drones, 20 individuals were located hiding in the surrounding woods and a nearby field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four additional individuals who arrived at the scene were determined to be connected to the operation and were also arrested. Two more individuals were located walking along a nearby roadway and were determined to be involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 26 individuals were arrested and charged with Dogfighting and Cruelty to Animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the investigation, 26 vehicles were towed from the scene, multiple dogs and firearms were seized, and large amounts of cash were recovered and seized as evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INDIVIDUALS ARRESTED<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Tazmorronta Hollowell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 52 | Lauderdale Lakes, FL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Edick Wellington Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 52 | Clewiston, FL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Ronald Kamel Wiggins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 46 | Jackson, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Cory Lavon Edwards<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 50 | Pontiac, MI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Kristi Lakiah Watkins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 37 | Jackson, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Donnell Lamar Slade<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 51 | Columbia, SC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Patrick Oneal Heard<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 48 | Elberton, GA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Curtis Franklin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 45 | Rochester, NY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Gregory Jermaine McCallun<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 47 | Jackson, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Jerell Dejaun Summers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 34 | Orangeburg, SC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Tina Monique Adams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 46 | Lancaster, TX<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Jarrod Christopher Middleton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 41 | Jackson, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Rodriguez Deangelo Bell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 43 | McDonough, GA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Eddrick Deewayne Twitty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 46 | Blackwood, SC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. Keith Montel Skinner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 33 | Kosciusko, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. Ronald Greg Cunningham<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 55 | Bowman, GA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. Terrance Franklin Davis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 48 | Dothan, AL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. Cedric Lashawn Kyle<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 53 | Jackson, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19. Jahim Brown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 23 | Lexington, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20. Dwight Eric Pinellas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 29 | Kissimmee, FL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21. Monty Henry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 33 | Washington, DC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22. Jonathan C. Primus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 35 | Charleston, WV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23. Charles Jamaruez Wilson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 38 | Sallis, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24. Deandre Lindell Upchurch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 45 | Flint, MI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25. Raymond Elusta Richo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 55 | Jacksonville, FL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

26. Glenn Everett Zebbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 50 | Westminster, SC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those suspects, 48-year-old Patrick Heard from Elberton, was arrested in April, 2024 for dogfighting near Columbia, SC. In that case, Heard was one of 13 men involved in the dogfighting ring who were arrested at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suspects in the Hart Couny case are being charged with dogfighting and cruelty to animals, Carroll said. And more charges could be pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three of the suspects came from Georgia. The rest came from states as far away as New York and Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carroll told WLHR News investigators are working on how they came to hold the dogfight on the property on Jim Heard Road, who owns the property, and who the ringleader of the dogfighting ring is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Dogfighting is a cruel and inhumane activity that has no place in Hart County or anywhere else,” Carroll said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheriff Carroll said 8 dogs were found alive and were taken to Hart County Animal Control. He said they are being evaluated for their injuries. He said they also found multiple dead dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that what started as a deputy responding to vehicles parked in the roadway led to the discovery of a large dogfighting operation involving individuals from multiple states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am extremely proud of our deputies for their quick actions and outstanding work in locating and apprehending these individuals,” he said. “I also want to personally thank the Elbert County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Franklin County Sheriff\u2019s Office, and the GBI for their assistance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Georgia, a person convicted of violating any part of the dogfighting statute will be guilty of a felony. Upon a first conviction, the penalty is a fine of at least $5,000, a prison term between one and five years, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second or subsequent conviction is punishable by a prison term between one and ten years, a fine of no less than $15,000, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming.\u2014 in Hart County, Georgia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday, October 30, 2026, just before 11:30 p.m., a Hart County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy responded to the end of Jim Heard Road in reference to vehicles parked in the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzExXC9pbWFnZXMtMy53ZWJwIiwidHh0IjoiMjYgQXJyZXN0ZWQgV2l0aCBGb3VyIEZyb20gRmxvcmlkYSBpbiBIYXJ0IENvdW50eSBEb2dmaWdodGluZyBSaW5nIEJ1c3QiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImRvaXMiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.rvd_loy8UZOJw0siVt2DtMpguy7DL1R-TLiHl5gqQwoMQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzExXC9pbWFnZXMtMy53ZWJwIiwidHh0IjoiMjYgQXJyZXN0ZWQgV2l0aCBGb3VyIEZyb20gRmxvcmlkYSBpbiBIYXJ0IENvdW50eSBEb2dmaWdodGluZyBSaW5nIEJ1c3QiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImRvaXMiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.rvd_loy8UZOJw0siVt2DtMpguy7DL1R-TLiHl5gqQwoMQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[15360,18241,15189,18923,18925,18924,3365,15561],"class_list":["post-86908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional-and-world-news","tag-animal-cruelty","tag-arrests","tag-crime","tag-dogfighting","tag-georgia-news","tag-hart-county","tag-law-enforcement","tag-sheriff-department"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86911,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86908\/revisions\/86911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}