Richmond man will serve three years in prison for a dogfighting conviction.
In Richmond Circuit Court today, substitute Judge Thomas N. Nance sentenced Deano A. Jones, 47, to five years in prison, with two years suspended, on a dogfighting charge. Nance also sentenced him to five years on each of two counts of animal cruelty but suspended all of that time.
Jones entered an Alford plea to the dogfighting charge. An Alford plea means he does not admit guilt but acknowledges that authorities had enough evidence to convict him, and he pleaded guilty to the two counts of animal cruelty.
Authorities seized 21 pit bulls from Jones’ home in the 1700 block of North 23rd Street. Seventeen of the animals had to be euthanized, according to testimony in court today.
Authorities also recovered a treadmill, steroids and other materials associated with dogfighting.
Defense attorney Robert E. Walker Jr. characterized his client as an animal lover who fell on hard times when he lost his job and his home and that he couldn’t afford to take his pets to the veterinarian.
One defense witness, Candace Foxx, said Jones treated his dogs like children. “He should have been a veterinarian,” Foxx said.
“He is not an animal lover,” the judge said.
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