Former NFL operating again LeShon Johnson has been charged with working a large-scale canine combating ring in Oklahoma, the Justice Division introduced this week.
Johnson, 54, allegedly ran “Mal Kant Kennels” in each Damaged Arrow and Haskell, Okla.
He’s accused of “possessing 190 pit bull-type dogs for use in an animal fighting venture” and of “selling, transporting and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture,” the division mentioned in a press release.
The pit bulls that have been owned by former NFL participant LeShon Johnson are being saved in a bit of the Tulsa Animal Shelter that’s marked off by tape, Monday, April 11, 2005, as proof within the case in opposition to him on the Tulsa Animal Shelter in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photograph/The Tulsa World, John Clanton)
Johnson allegedly bred canines that had received fights to be able to create offspring with traits appropriate for canine combating. He additionally offered and marketed the offspring and the “stud rights” of his “champion” canines, based on the feds.
“Federal authorities seized the 190 dogs from Johnson in October 2024 as authorized under the Animal Welfare Act. This is believed to be the largest number of dogs ever seized from a single person in a federal dog fighting case,” the DOJ mentioned.
Johnson faces as much as 5 years in jail for every of his expenses, in addition to a $250,000 effective
He beforehand ran one other canine kennel in Oklahoma that led to a responsible plea on state animal combating expenses in 2004.
Johnson performed faculty soccer at Northern Illinois and was drafted by the Inexperienced Bay Packers in 1994. He additionally performed for the Arizona Cardinals and spent the 1999 season with the New York Giants.
