James Lampkin, Conspiracy to Violate the Animal Welfare Act, Georgia 2024

DUBLIN, GA – In a shocking display of cruelty, James Lampkin, a/k/a “Pookie,” 44, of Eastman, Ga., has been sentenced to 46 months in prison and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to Conspiracy to Violate the Animal Welfare Act.

The sentencing, which took place on an undated date, marked the culmination of a lengthy investigation into a dog-fighting operation in Dodge County. U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. also ordered Lampkin to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.

Lampkin’s co-defendants, Joe Ford, 33, of Elgin, S.C., and Xavier Simmons, 34, of Sandersville, Ga., also received sentences. Ford was sentenced to 18 months in prison, fined $1,500, and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence. Simmons was sentenced to five years’ probation and fined $1,000.

The investigation, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, revealed a disturbing picture of animal cruelty. In March 2018, Georgia State Patrol troopers and Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens conducted traffic stops in Eastman after the Oconee (Georgia) Drug Task Force received reports of dog fights at Lampkin’s property.

During the traffic stops, officers discovered a dog in one of the vehicles that appeared to have been injured while fighting. Later, while serving a search warrant at Lampkin’s residence, investigators seized 63 dogs chained in the back yard and discovered a disassembled pit and bloodied carpet where fights were held, along with equipment used to train dogs for fighting.

The case was prosecuted for the United States by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rock with assistance from U.S. Environment and Natural Resources Attorney Ethan Eddy and Northern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.

“Every defendant charged in this barbaric dog-fighting operation has now been held accountable after admitting to the charges,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes. “Our vigilant law enforcement partners did outstanding work in identifying and shutting down this reprehensible activity.”

“These callous individuals were attracted to an activity which is both disturbingly cruel and illegal,” said Jason Williams, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General. “Our agency and law enforcement partners will be relentless in our pursuit of individuals who maliciously find pleasure in harming these creatures.”

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