Frederick Douglass Moorefield, Jr., Dog Fighting, Maryland 2023

Two men from Anne Arundel County, Maryland, have been charged with participating in a dog fighting ring, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on September 21, 2023, in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Frederick Douglass Moorefield, Jr., 62, of Arnold, Maryland, and Mario Damon Flythe, 49, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, are accused of promoting and furthering an animal fighting venture, a felony under federal law.

According to the complaint, Moorefield, a Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications, for Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Flythe used an encrypted messaging application to communicate with individuals throughout the United States to discuss dogfighting.

For example, as detailed in the affidavit, Moorefield, Flythe, and their associates used the encrypted messaging application to discuss how to train dogs for illegal dogfighting, exchanged videos about dogfighting, and arranged and coordinated dogfights.

On September 6, 2023, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at Moorefield and Flythe’s residences in Maryland. Following the execution of these warrants, twelve dogs were recovered and seized by the federal government.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for possessing, training, or transporting animals for participation in an animal fighting venture.

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