Man accused of selling pit bull for dogfighting heads to trial
Gayland Tomlin, 28, the man accused of selling a pit bull puppy to an uncover officer for dogfighting purposes, was given pretrial and trial dates in the Washtenaw County Trial Court Monday.
Judge Melinda Morris set a pretrial date of Aug. 20 and a trial date of Sept. 10 for the case.
The Ypsilanti Township man is charged with two counts of offering to buy or sell an animal for fighting and two counts of possessing any device or equipment intended for use in the fighting of an animal.
Tomlin faces a maximum of four years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.
Details of the dogfighting sting came out in a preliminary examination in May when cruelty investigator Elise Ramsey of the Humane Society of Huron Valley testified she made contact with Tomlin under a different name in January. A few weeks later, Ramsey went to Tomlin’s home in the 1300 block of Nash Avenue and purchased a pit bull puppy.
At that time, Tomlin allegedly attempted to demonstrate the dog’s fighting ability for Ramsey and an undercover deputy from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities serving a search warrant in February found two dogs - one of which was the mother of the puppy Tomlin allegedly attempted to sell the undercover officers - which were so aggressive they needed to be euthanized.
The puppy and its sibling have since been given new homes through adoption.
Tomlin is not currently lodged in the Washtenaw County Jail.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Madeleine Borthwick
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 12:11 a.m.
Why oh why isn't this guy under lock and key?! ten to one he's gonna run!
RJA
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 10:11 p.m.
Thank you to Elise Ramsey, and the underover deputy fot getting this guy, and hoping he is found guilty of being accused. How anyone can get a kick out of fighting dogs is beyond me. I am so proud of my grandson (in another state) for adopting 2 pits than were hurt and had many scars. They are now very happy dogs. I don't understand why this so called man is not lodged.
justcurious
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 9:39 p.m.
I can't say what I think should happen to anyone engaged in abusing animals. It would be too graphic.
Madeleine Borthwick
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 12:09 a.m.
justcurious, I know EXACTLY what you mean. Let's just say that I've read up on some of the methods used during the Spanish Inquisition(which NO ONE EXPECTS!) and they are far too graphic to be disclosed here.....
nickcarraweigh
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 9:26 p.m.
Since "Tomlin is not currently lodged in the Washtenaw County Jail" he must be somewhere else. At the movies? On a world cruise? Out on bail? Anyway, if I sell you a car that could break the speed limit, but doesn't have to, does that make me guilty if you choose to speed?