St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s deputies have arrested and booked a man in connection with alleged dog fighting.
Willie James Joseph Jr of Pamela Street, Opelousas, was booked with felony dog fighting.
On Monday, deputies got a tip that Joseph was making his two dogs fight in his back yard.
A witness videoed the incident, which deputies say shows Joseph watching and instigating the fight. Deputies arrived on the scene, and questioned Joseph. Joseph allegedly told deputies he was trying to make the dogs play, not fight.
Deputies located one of the dogs still in the cage on the video. The dog had blood and cuts on both ears. The other dog was inside of the residence and had cuts and blood on the front of its face.
The dogs would not allow deputies to get any closer to them without becoming aggressive. Animal control took possession of the dogs.
Joseph was arrested and transported to the parish jail for processing.
“I would like to thank the person who brought this to our attention and provided us with the video evidence,” Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said. “Working with the witness and the St. Landry Parish Animal Shelter, Joseph was arrested and the dogs were taken out of that environment.”
Anyone that has information on dog fighting is urged to call St. Landry Crime Stoppers at 337-948-8477 or download the P3 app on your mobile device to submit your anonymous tips. You could earn up to a $1,000 cash reward.
Here’s video of the incident. It’s not pleasant to look at, so don’t watch it if you don’t want to see dogs fighting each other.
