L.A. County Sheriff Busts Pitbull Fighting Ring, Confiscates 17 Dogs, 4 Kids, 1 Ounce of Cocaine

By Simone Wilson Thu., Mar. 3 2011 at 5:48 AM

Antelope Valley's finest

There have been some major shenanigans going off in Lake Los Angeles -- that soulless (and ironically lake-less) unincorporated no-man's-land in the Antelope Valley, backdrop to many a meth lab and our worst "Hills Have Eyes" nightmares.

Now, the bumpkin community can add bloody pitbull fighting rings to its resume of trashy vices:

After investigating a call from a neighbor for the last month (thanks to the official dog-fighting tip line!), L.A. County sheriff's deputies busted into a house on the 41000 block of 178th Street in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Brace yourself, because here's what they found in the house of Jesse and Yvette Jimenez, a couple in their early 40s:

17 pitbulls, many with injuries and tied to stakes in the yard
A portable, collapsible wooden dog-fighting ring covered in dried blood
Training records, breeding manuals and treadmills for the dogs
Surgical tools and medical equipment for treating their injuries at home
Four children, ages 1, 10, 12 and 14
One ounce of cocaine

KCAL9

It takes work to look this stout and menacing

The 4:30 a.m. bust was quite an operation. Jesse and Yvette were arrested for felony dog fighting and drug possession, their kids were taken into protective custody and the pitbulls sent to the Lancaster Animal Shelter for safekeeping.

From the sheriff's report:

Once there, [county officials] found an elaborate dog fighting and training operation. ...
Later, during the interview process, both suspects admitted to their roles in the activity.

The dog fighting has apparently been going on in various areas in the Antelope Valley for several years.

A similar LAPD bust in December 2008 also found 17 fighter pitbulls cooped up in a Los Angeles backyard -- underweight, wounded and infested with fleas. In addition to treadmills, their owners used 30-pound chains on stakes to exercise the dogs. Walter Citizen and Arnett Counts, the two men responsible, are serving five years each for animal cruelty.

Here's a brief report from KCAL9 that aired last night. Nothing too graphic, but it does include footage of some seriously sketch pointy-stick objects recovered from the Lake Los Angeles home:

As if we needed another reason to never set foot north of Santa Clarita.

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

Tags:

animal shelter, Antelope Valley, child services, cocaine, dog fighting, dog safety, Lake Los Angeles, Lancaster, pitbulls

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Justine

Your article was very biased and downright false. The Lake Los Angeles community isn't one full of "bumpkins," it isn't "soulless," and it is not "trashy." For the most part, we are a community of hard-working people who want to raise our children in a tight-knit community. Yes, there are problem people, just like any other towns and cities in this county and across this nation. I have lived here for almost nine years, and I have NEVER seen a meth lab bust or heard of one. If there is a crime going on here we hear about it because they are rare, especially when you consider that the majority of this population are poor people with NOTHING to do, especially in the summer. I came from Hollywood, where we heard sirens, saw the police helicopters, and heard gunshots almost on a nightly basis. And, we lived blocks from a major Hollywood studio. Our town is RURAL, not "Bumpkin-ville," and we want to keep it that way. Our town council keeps the big business out, and we don't want to be taken over by the big city. We are not "lake-less" either, and if you had ever been here you would know that. Get the story correct~ our lake is water-less, but it is, indeed, there. As for the "Hills Have Eyes" comment~ Well, that is how we keep people like you out of our little piece of the desert!

Gina

I think animal cruelty isnt the right or good thing to do to the animals what did they do u the adults who did this to them .The tywo people who did the dog fighting should spend prison time as much as they could have they need to be in prison what they did to those poor dogs i Hate animal cruelty or dog fighting i hate it alot i dont want to see this happen to these dogs Why always pit Bulls These two adults should go to prison and dont get out stay in there as long as they serve

Vampirekerr

can they all please be shot? not the dogs or the kids but the "adults"?

snowbird04

Hopefully the penalties become so severe for dog fighting, that it will not be worth the prison time and fines to continue. Animal abusers deserve max prison time!!