Lanier Augustus Hightower Jr., Sponsoring and Exhibiting an Animal in an Animal Fighting Venture, Georgia 2020

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Ex-Cockfighting Venue Owner Sentenced to Prison

A 65-year-old man from Lincoln County, Georgia, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for operating an illegal cockfighting venue.

Lanier Augustus Hightower Jr. was found guilty of Sponsoring and Exhibiting an Animal in an Animal Fighting Venture and was ordered to pay a fine of $500. He is also prohibited from owning or keeping any birds or fowl and attending any events related to birds or cockfighting. After completing his prison term, Hightower will have to serve two years of supervised release.

The sentencing comes after Hightower worked with others to sponsor a cockfight on his farm in Lincoln County on December 14, 2019. The operation, called Little Sunset, was raided by law enforcement agencies in June 2020, along with another venue called The Red Barn, owned by Wendell Allan Strickland.

Strickland and another operator, William Shannon Scott, have also pleaded guilty to charges related to the cockfighting ventures and are awaiting sentencing. As part of their plea agreements, both men will forfeit their farms.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall ordered Hightower to report to prison on November 8. The cases are being investigated by the USDA-OIG and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier A. Cunningham and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rock.

‘This sentence sends a strong message that animal fighting will not be tolerated in the Southern District of Georgia,’ said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes. ‘In coordination with our law enforcement partners, we will target and eliminate these barbaric operations and hold the organizers and participants accountable.’

According to court documents, Hightower’s operation was one of several venues that operated in the area, with the cockfights taking place on alternating weekend schedules. The brutal practice of watching animals mutilate each other to death holds no entertainment value and will not be tolerated, said Jason Williams, Special Agent in Charge, USDA-OIG.