Laron Mecco “Frog” West, Dogfighting Conspiracy, Virginia 2020

Alexandria, Va. – In a disturbing case of animal cruelty, Laron Mecco “Frog” West, a 46-year-old Forestville, Maryland, man, pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in dogfighting.

According to court documents, from at least May 2015 through August 2020, West and other conspirators from Virginia, D.C., and Maryland, used a messaging app private group, which they generally referred to as “The DMV Board” or “The Board,” as a place where they and their associates could discuss training fighting dogs, exchange videos about dogfighting, and arrange and coordinate dog fights, away from the view of law enforcement authorities.

Members of The DMV Board also used the messaging app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost fights, as well as to circulate media reports about conspirators who had been caught by law enforcement and discuss methods to minimize the likelihood that they would be caught themselves.

Court documents reflect that, in June 2017, West posted on the DMV Board that “we kill” fighting dogs that quit. In October 2018, West posted on the DMV Board that dogs that failed to fight aggressively enough had been killed. West wrote that he “loves to throw [the dogs] over the bridge and into the water.”

West’s coconspirators, Charles Edward Williams, III, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, and Michael Roy Hilliard, 37, of Fort Washington, were also involved in the dogfighting conspiracy. Williams and Hilliard pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy as West earlier this month.

West, Williams, and Hilliard are each scheduled to be sentenced on February 21, 2023, and face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Significant assistance was provided by The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cristina Stam and Gordon Kromberg are prosecuting the case.

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