Ex-NFL RB LeShon Johnson gets 5 years for dogfighting ring — SkimNews
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- LeShon Johnson, who played for the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants from 1994 to 1999, was sentenced to five years in federal prison Thursday for operating a dogfighting ring in Oklahoma that "resulted in death and serious bodily injury" to hundreds of pit bulls
- Johnson was convicted last August of six felonies—three counts of possessing a dog for an animal fighting venture, two counts of selling a dog for that purpose, and one count of sale, transport and delivery—and also received three years of supervised release plus a $30,000 fine
- The DOJ said Johnson surrendered 190 dogs after his conviction, the largest number of dogs seized from one individual in a federal dogfighting case
- Prosecutors said Johnson ran "Mal Kant Kennels" in Oklahoma since at least 2007, breeding "champion and grand champion" pit bulls to create offspring with fighting traits and marketing the bloodline to other dog fighters
- Defense attorney Billy Coyle IV asked the court for probation, arguing Johnson has severe dementia and Parkinson's disease and suffered multiple concussions and TBIs from his football career, though Coyle said he wasn't using those conditions to dodge responsibility
- Federal prosecutors had asked for a 10-year sentence, arguing Johnson "exercised leadership authority" over at least one other person and that the death and injury to hundreds of dogs disqualified him from a reduced sentence
- Oklahoma court records show Johnson pleaded guilty in 2004 in state court to dogfighting charges and received a five-year deferred sentence
Why it matters: The five-year sentence—after Johnson had already dodged a 2004 state dogfighting conviction with a deferred sentence—gives the DOJ a benchmark for prosecuting repeat offenders running kennel-style operations: prosecutors sought 10 years and noted Johnson's leadership role over others, while his attorney is already recommending an appeal despite his client's dementia and Parkinson's diagnoses.
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