Two men indicted on dogfighting charges
Ricardo Louis, left, 22, of Elmont, and Marlon Bernier, right, 25 , of Elmont, have been indicted on felony animal cruelty charges after training numerous pit bulls to fight and permitting the dogs to attack one another, according to the Nassau County district attorney. (Aug. 5, 2011)
Two Elmont men have been indicted on felony animal cruelty charges after, prosecutors said, they trained dogs to fight and deprived them of medical care when they were injured.
A Nassau grand jury indicted Marlon Bernier, 25, and Ricardo Louis, 22, on four counts of prohibition of animal fighting and fourth-degree conspiracy, all felonies, as well as several misdemeanors, prosecutors said Friday. Bernier was also charged with second-degree criminal contempt.
Bernier's lawyer, William Kephart, of Garden City, denied the charges.
"There was no training, breeding or selling of dogs for dogfighting," he said.
A lawyer for Louis did not return a call seeking comment.
Since at least May 2010, Bernier and Louis operated a dogfighting ring out of their Virginia Avenue home by training the dogs to fight, pitting them against one another, and breeding the strongest so they could sell the puppies on their website, BlueMagicPitz.com, for as much as $1,500 each, prosecutors said.
Kennels found in the bloody backyard housed the nine dogs -- eight pit bulls and a German shepherd they were boarding -- some with fresh facial injuries and some with their teeth filed sharp, prosecutors said. Two dogs found by police required emergency medical attention, prosecutors said.
Bernier and Louis strengthened the pit bulls' jaw muscles by having them bite an object attached to a "spring-pole" apparatus that they hung from a freestanding basketball hoop. The dogs were then hoisted off the ground and left hanging by their teeth, prosecutors said.
Bernier was convicted in June 2010 of misdemeanor animal cruelty on charges of training pit bulls to fight, then menacing responding police officers with them. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and prohibited from owning or keeping any animals.
Bernier has been held on $50,000 bail since his new arrest this June. Louis is being held on $10,000 bail in another case.
They face up to 4 years in prison if convicted and are due back in court on Wednesday.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
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