Dog-fight charges added in Polk case
Authorities are trying to win control of 35 more dogs allegedly abandoned by an Aragon man.
An Aragon man accused of abandoning more than 70 dogs with strains of pit bull or bulldog is now facing felony charges connected with dog-fighting.
District Attorney Jack Browning said Thursday he’s filed additional charges of criminal attempt to commit the felony offense of dog-fighting against Devecio Ranard Rowland, 32.
Rowland was initially charged with 70 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals after police found the dogs tied up to trees Monday at his foreclosed residence, 569 Cashtown Road in Aragon.
“A search warrant turned up another 35 dogs at a Puckett Road address Rowland is associated with,” said Browning, who represents the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit, which includes Haralson and Polk counties. “If charges haven’t been filed on those yet, they’re coming.”
Polk County Police Department Chief Kenny Dodd said officers were still out at the Puckett Road house Thursday, collecting more evidence.
Neither he nor Browning would provide many more details about the dog case.
“It’s still an active investigation,” Browning said. “Once we have everything, it’ll go to a grand jury and we’ll have a better idea of the prosecution timeline.”
Rowland was being held in the Polk County Jail with no bond set.
He’s also facing a felony probation violation.
Dodd said Rowland has refused to release the Puckett Road dogs to police.
“The district attorney is setting up a hearing to get the dogs condemned and have them turned over to us, so we can have them placed,” he said.
Animal shelters in Paulding and Douglas counties and Cherokee County, Alabama, are currently housing the dogs.
Dodd said some of the Cashtown Road dogs have been picked up by rescue groups, but there are still 58 remaining in area shelters.