Benjaman Shinhoster III, Dog Fighting, Georgia 2018

Benjaman Shinhoster III, also known as ‘Benji,’ has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring in Georgia. The 41-year-old man from Louisville, Ga., pleaded guilty to sponsoring and exhibiting a dog in an animal fighting venture.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes, Shinhoster’s sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. The judge also ordered Shinhoster to pay a fine of $2,500 and to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison sentence.

There is no parole in the federal system, making Shinhoster’s sentence a long and serious one. ‘It is appalling that anyone could find ‘entertainment’ from forcing animals into bloody and often fatal fights,’ said Estes. ‘We’re grateful to our alert law enforcement partners for shutting down this dogfighting operation, and Benji Shinhoster and his co-defendants are being held accountable.’

Shinhoster had been on pre-sentencing supervised release after pleading guilty in the case, but his bond was revoked after he was discovered to have been attempting to sell several dogs. ‘The gall of this defendant to continue as a proprietor of death while on bond is unnerving,’ said Jason Williams, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General.

The lead defendant in the investigation, James Lampkin, also known as ‘Pookie,’ awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to Conspiracy to Violate the Animal Welfare Act. Co-defendants Deveon Hood, Andre Archer, Xavier Simmons, and Joe Ford await sentencing in federal court after pleading guilty to related felony charges.

Other individuals involved in the case include Dwight McDuffie, who is serving two years of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge. In March 2018, Georgia State Patrol troopers and Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens conducted traffic stops in Eastman after receiving reports of a dog-fighting operation at Lampkin’s property.

During those traffic stops, officers discovered a dog in one of the vehicles that appeared to have been injured while fighting. Investigators later seized 63 dogs at Lampkin’s residence while serving a search warrant after finding the animals chained in the back yard. Investigators also discovered a disassembled pit where fights were held, and equipment used to train dogs for fighting.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rock and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandro V. Pascual IV.

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