Written by Tanya Terry
A 38-year-old man is scheduled for sentencing on May 22 for probation violation and his involvement in an alleged dog fighting ring.
Casey Kidd will stand trial on 11 new charges related to the alleged dog fighting ring.
During a routine visit to his residence in the 3000 block of Berta Avenue on March 3, Mount Morris Township Police Department and probation officers found nine dogs in poor condition, including six chained in the backyard, one in the kitchen, and two in a bedroom. The dogs were malnourished and showed injuries consistent with fighting. Authorities also discovered dog fighting equipment, including a large treadmill for conditioning animals, as well as firearms and ammunition that the man is prohibited from possessing due to past felony convictions.
His charges include animal fighting, possession of fighting animals or equipment, cruelty to 4 to 10 animals, two counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, two counts of possession of ammunition by a prohibited person and four counts of having a firearm while committing a felony.
Judge David Newblatt ruled that Kidd violated his probation related to a 2023 dog abandonment case and a 2024 weapons possession case. In the 2023 case, eight dogs were found chained in a backyard in Flint, Michigan, with six dying from starvation.
At that time, Kidd pleaded no contest to abandoning and cruelty to 4 to 10 animals and was sentenced to three years of probation with a requirement to serve three years in prison if violated.
In the 2024 weapons case, he pleaded no contest to carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, among other charges.
