MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Freeport man was sentenced today to 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison for his role in training pit bull dogs for use in an illegal dogfighting enterprise.
Anthony Reddick, 55, pleaded guilty on May 24 in front of Acting Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy to one count of Prohibition of Animal Fighting (an Agriculture and Markets Law unclassified felony) and Criminal Contempt in the 2nd Degree (an A misdemeanor). This was Reddick’s fourth conviction for Prohibition of Animal Fighting. As part of the defendant’s sentence, he was prohibited from having any contact with animals for 15 years by court order. His conviction for criminal contempt stemmed from his violation of a prior such order.
“Anthony Reddick has relentlessly participated in the violent criminal enterprise of dogfighting for nearly two decades,” said DA Singas. “His sentence, though the maximum allowable by law, should put the public and the legislature on notice that our state desperately needs to enhance the penalties for such atrocious acts. My office has long lobbied for such change, proposing legislation year after year, and will continue to push for reform until serial dogfighters, like Reddick, balance their decades of crime with decades in prison.”
DA Singas said that between March 29 and May 13, 2015, Reddick, while on parole from another dogfighting conviction secured by the District Attorney’s Office, conspired with others to breed, purchase, train, and fight pit bull dogs in an underground network of dog fighters. Reddick had just been released from jail on March 5, 2015 after serving time for his 2014 conviction of Prohibition of Animal Fighting and was on parole when intercepted communications with other members of the ring revealed that Reddick was actively involved in the breeding and training of dogs. Reddick engaged in this conduct despite his acknowledgement to others that he was not supposed be around animals for 15 years by Court Order.
In 2014, Reddick pled guilty to multiple dogfighting counts after a fire at his residence revealed a substantial training facility for fighting dogs. Multiple pit bulls, confined to cages, perished in that fire and their bodies were found amongst modified treadmills, break-sticks, spring-poles, and other training apparatus indicative of dogfighting activity. A warrant executed on his premises revealed his participation in the underground enterprise spanning back more than a decade. Reddick’s first conviction in connection with dogfighting was in 1998; his second in 2001.
The defendant was arrested by the Nassau County Police Department Narcotics Vice Bureau on May 13, 2015, after a joint investigation with the DA’s office dubbed “Operation Blood Sport.” Fellow dog fighter, Keith Salley, also known as SLAY, was also arrested as a result of this investigation. Salley pleaded guilty on June 16 to five felony counts of Prohibition of Animal Fighting for his role in the fighting, training, and breeding of pit bulls dogs to be used in dog fighting for amusement or gain. Salley is due back in court for sentencing before Judge Murphy on August 11. Reddick’s co-defendant, Shaheem Allen was likewise convicted and sentenced for dogfighting and heroin charges this past March.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office has long sought to change antiquated laws related to animal crimes that are currently classified in the state’s Agriculture and Markets Law. In 2012, the office authored the Consolidated Animal Crimes Bill (CACB), which would effectively double the incarceration exposure for dogfighting, and make repeat offenders – like Reddick – subject to mandatory prison terms. The CACB has been introduced each year since 2012 but has failed to come to the floor for a vote, despite robust support from both law enforcement and legal communities. In 2015 and 2016, DA Singas proposed additional statutes that would expand the use of electronic surveillance and organized crime statutes to include dogfighting. These proposals passed the state senate, but failed to pass the assembly before the end of the 2016 legislative session.
Assistant District Attorney Christiana McSloy, Deputy Bureau Chief of DA Singas’ Special Operations, Narcotics and Gangs Bureau is prosecuting the case. Reddick is represented by Steven Barnwell, Esq. Salley is represented by Mike Degarabedian, Esq. Allen is represented by Dana Grossblatt, Esq.