RICHMOND, Va. -- Prosecutor Alex Taylor hammered home his plea with the thud of a 52-pound bucket of rusty, dirt-encrusted chains.
A Richmond Circuit Court jury responded with what could end up as the longest prison term -- by far -- for a dogfighting conviction in Virginia history.
The jury yesterday deliberated more than two hours before convicting Richard E. Robinson of three felonies and one misdemeanor related to a dogfighting operation at his South Richmond home.
The panel deliberated 40 more minutes before coming back with a recommendation that Robinson, 32, spend 10 years behind bars.
Judge Beverly W. Snukals scheduled formal sentencing for March 5. Richmond prosecutors and animal-control authorities said they are unaware of any dogfighting sentences in Virginia exceeding four years, which means if Snukals endorses the jury's recommendation, the sentence would be more than twice as long as anything handed down in the state.
The conviction and sentence recommendation came after Taylor and fellow Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jed Patterson introduced a variety of evidence from the property where Robinson lived with his mother in the 2100 block of Wright Avenue. That evidence included several tools commonly used in dogfighting operations, including heavy chains often tied around the necks of dogs to help them build strength.
One such chain contained several dozen links the size of a small fist and weighed 52 pounds -- more than the dog that had been attached to it. The prosecutors brought the chain to court in a red plastic bucket, and Patterson carried the pail over to the jury box during his closing argument and plunked it down in front of the panel.
Taylor carried it over to the panel again when he was arguing during the sentencing phase of the trial, except this time, he plopped it down with such force that that courtroom floor shook and several jurors flinched.
"This," he said in a booming voice, looking alternately at the bucket and then at the jurors, "is no way to treat man's best friend."
Noting that Robinson was convicted of six counts of animal cruelty in May 2005, Taylor urged the jury to strongly consider a lengthy sentence.
"When is enough enough?" Taylor asked. "What would be appropriate for someone who just doesn't get it?"
The jury convicted Robinson on one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and recommended one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. The panel recommended three years in prison on each of three felony convictions: one count of dogfighting and two of animal fighting.
When Robinson was arrested in June, authorities recovered 12 dogs -- 11 of them pit bulls -- from the house. Nine of the dogs were euthanized because they were judged to be severely aggressive, and another was put down because it had facial wounds that had become badly infected.
Almost all the dogs had what authorities said were fresh wounds that were consistent with dogfighting. Dogfighting manuals and bodybuilding supplements were found inside the house.
Defense attorney Shannon Taylor called one witness in the two-day trial.
Tracy M. Tucker, whose criminal history includes a 1990 murder conviction and who is awaiting sentencing next month on a federal firearms conviction, testified that the dogs actually belonged to him and that Robinson was just renting out his so-called "Old School Kennels" for $100 per dog per year.
Tucker said he alone was responsible for feeding and exercising the dogs, which he said were breeding dogs, not fighting dogs. He said the heavy chains were used to prevent them from breaking free and biting each other or attacking humans.
Contact Joe Macenka at (804) 649-6804 or jmacenka@timesdispatch.com.
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