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Man pleads guilty in dog-fighting case
By NICK WERNER
nwerner@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE - A 20-year-old Muncie man became the first person convicted of a felony animal fighting charge in Delaware County when he entered a guilty plea Tuesday.
Tyson Carpenter, 20, 2309 W. Oliver Drive, was placed on electronic home detention for 18 months as part of a plea agreement his attorney reached with prosecutors.
The felony conviction should send a message to others involved in dog fighting that local authorities take the crime seriously, Deputy Prosecutor Judi Calhoun said.
"Animal fighting will not be tolerated," she said.
A review of court records reflected that Carpenter and Vincent E. Wolfe are the only people to be convicted of animal fighting in Delaware County in the past 20 years.
Wolfe was charged with felony animal fighting in 1996 but was later convicted of a misdemeanor as part of a plea bargain.
Animal fighting was a misdemeanor in Indiana until 1987, when it was upgraded to class D felony status.
Police arrested Carpenter in April with 18-year-old Joseph Keating after police received a tip that the two had staged dog fights.
Carpenter was scheduled to stand trial Tuesday but he pleaded guilty before a jury had been selected.
He spoke little during his hearing, answering only the basic yes-or-no questions required to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.
Circuit Court 5 Judge Wayne Lennington approved the plea agreement and then told Carpenter he was "getting a real break."
The judge also ordered Carpenter to pay $286 in veterinary bills related to his pit bulls and ruled he would not be allowed to own dogs while he is on home detention.
"I will not give you a second chance," Lennington said. "What you did here is inexcusable."
Calhoun said she was satisfied with home detention over incarceration because home detention is paid for through user fees, not taxes, and does not allow credit time for good behavior.
Had Carpenter been sentenced to 18 months incarceration, he likely would have spent it in the Delaware County jail and only served nine months, she said.
Jill Dolon, co-chairwoman for a task force that targets dog fighting in Delaware County, said she is always thrilled when someone is punished for dog fighting, cruelty or neglect of an animal.
"As long as he learns a lesson and it doesn't happen again, I'm happy," she said.
Keating's trial is scheduled for December.
Contact news reporter Nick Werner at 213-5832.
Help stop dog fighting
Anyone with information regarding dog fighting in Muncie should contact city police investigators Nathan Sloan or Jami Brown at (765) 747-4867.
A new group called The Unconditional Love Foundation has formed with the goal of sponsoring community awareness to end dog fighting. The group is willing to pay up to $2,500 for tips leading to an arrest and conviction. To contact Unconditional Love, call (765) 287-9043.
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