Pentagon Official Accused Of Running Dog Fighting Ring
A Pentagon official has been arrested and charged with running a dog fighting ring. According to the Washington Post, Frederick Douglass Moorefield Jr. was detained on Thursday (Sept. 28) for his ties to the ring for over 20 years. He was charged with “promoting and furthering [the] animal fighting venture.” His longtime friend, Mario D. Flythe, was also arrested after allegedly admitting to his involvement in the ring. After their arraignment, the pair of men were released from captivity.
The FBI, the Department of Agriculture, and other federal agencies raided the two homes on Sept. 6, 2023. The agencies recovered weighted collars and heavy metal chains, which were used to strengthen the canines. Law enforcement also salvaged “an apparatus used for involuntarily inseminating female dogs.” Stains “consistent with bloodstains from dogfights” were also located on both premises.
The D.C.-based ring trained dogs for battle and raked in thousands of dollars through fight betting. Court records indicate that losing dogs would later be executed with jumper cables. Legal docs reported that law enforcement retrieved “five pit bull-type dogs” at both Flythe and Moorefield’s homes. Moorefield and Flythe were also found to be “experimenting with different types of performance-enhancing drugs to improve [their] chances of winning dogfights.”
A Department of Defense official has been charged with operating a secret dog fighting ring for over 20 years
Battery jumper cables, which allegedly were used to execute dogs and “an apparatus used for involuntarily inseminating female dogs” were foundhttps://t.co/mq3ChdIPl7 pic.twitter.com/8mI7oOqZ9s— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 3, 2023
Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman, a Pentagon spokesman, released a statement regarding the arrests. Gorman also gave a vague update regarding Frederick Douglass Moorefield’s future with the Pentagon. “We can confirm that the individual is no longer in the workplace, but we cannot comment further on an individual personnel matter,” Gorman expressed.
More legal docs reveal that the dog fighting ring was under investigation for nine years. Members of the ring were found to communicate through the Telegram app. They documented fighting dog training videos, setting up fights, setting wagers, and discussing dog-killing strategies. The two men also used code names when discussing their animal bouts. Frederick Douglass told FBI Special Agent Ryan C. Daly his nickname was “Geehad Kennels.” Mario stated that his alias was “Razor Sharp Kennels.”
Affidavits revealed previous complaints lodged at Moorefield’s dog ring involvement. In November 2018, county animal control was notified of “two dead dogs in a plastic dog food bag six miles from Moorefield’s home.”
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