Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

14 hours ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

15 hours ago

Trump Pushes for Release of Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony

17 hours ago

Trump Says US to Hit India With 25% Tariff Starting Friday

17 hours ago

Tariff Revenues Hit Record $150 Billion Amid Trump’s Trade Talks, Fox Business Reports

19 hours ago

Israeli Minister Hints at Annexing Parts of Gaza

20 hours ago

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

20 hours ago

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

2 days ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

2 days ago
LeShon Johnson, Ex-NFL Running Back, Ran Major Dogfighting Kennel, US Says
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 4 months ago on
March 27, 2025

Former NFL player LeShon Johnson faces federal charges for running a large dogfighting operation, risking significant prison time. (Shutterstock)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Federal authorities said this week that they had broken up a major dogfighting kennel in Oklahoma led by former National Football League running back LeShon Johnson, seizing 190 pit-bull-type dogs in what they described as the most ever taken from a single person in a federal case.

In a news release, the Justice Department said Tuesday that a 21-count indictment against Johnson, 54, had recently been unsealed in federal court in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He was arrested March 20 and arraigned the same day before being released, according to court documents.

Johnson, who played for the Green Bay Packers, the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants in the 1990s, is facing felony charges of possessing and trafficking dogs for use in an animal fighting venture. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

Previously Pled Guilty to Dogfighting Charges in 2024

He previously pleaded guilty to state dogfighting charges in 2004 and received a five-year deferred sentence.

“The FBI will not tolerate criminals that harm innocent animals for their twisted form of entertainment,” Kash Patel, the FBI director, said in a statement. “The FBI views animal cruelty investigations as a precursor to larger, organized crime efforts, similar to trafficking and homicides.”

Courtney R. Jordan, a lawyer for Johnson, declined to comment Wednesday.

Investigators say Johnson “selectively bred ‘champion’ and ‘grand champion’ fighting dogs — dogs that have respectively won three or five fights” as part of his criminal enterprise, which was known as Mal Kant Kennels and was based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Haskell, Oklahoma.

He marketed and sold stud rights and offspring from winning fighting dogs to others involving in dog fighting, authorities said, promoting their bloodlines.

Federal prosecutors said they had obtained text messages, emails and money transfer app transactions that show that Johnson had profited from his dogfighting venture.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Neil Vigdor
c. 2025 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

DON'T MISS

Madera Man Sentenced to 34 Years to Life in Fresno Murder Case

DON'T MISS

High Noon Recalls Mislabeled Vodka Seltzers Shipped in Celsius Cans, NBC Reports

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

DON'T MISS

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

DON'T MISS

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

DON'T MISS

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

DON'T MISS

Costa Blasts GOP Over Medi-Cal Cuts. His 2026 Opponent Defends Them

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

UP NEXT

Madera Man Sentenced to 34 Years to Life in Fresno Murder Case

UP NEXT

High Noon Recalls Mislabeled Vodka Seltzers Shipped in Celsius Cans, NBC Reports

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

UP NEXT

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

UP NEXT

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

UP NEXT

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

UP NEXT

Costa Blasts GOP Over Medi-Cal Cuts. His 2026 Opponent Defends Them

UP NEXT

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

UP NEXT

Trump Imposes Scaled-Back Copper Tariff, US Prices Plunge

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

12 hours ago

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

12 hours ago

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

13 hours ago

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

13 hours ago

Costa Blasts GOP Over Medi-Cal Cuts. His 2026 Opponent Defends Them

13 hours ago

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

14 hours ago

Trump Imposes Scaled-Back Copper Tariff, US Prices Plunge

14 hours ago

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

14 hours ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

15 hours ago

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

Emergency crews responded Wednesday evening after a jet crashed into a field in Fresno County, authorities said. The crash was reported arou...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

Lavale Vean Jr., 28, was sentenced Wednesday, July 30, 2025, to 34 years to life in prison for the 2017 murder of Roberto Ramos in Fresno. (Fresno County SO)
10 hours ago

Madera Man Sentenced to 34 Years to Life in Fresno Murder Case

High Noon has recalled some vodka seltzers after they were accidentally labeled as Celsius energy drinks and shipped to six states. (Shutterstock)
11 hours ago

High Noon Recalls Mislabeled Vodka Seltzers Shipped in Celsius Cans, NBC Reports

12 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

Fresno Unified Susan Wittrup
12 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

Adrian Hernandez Medrano, 20, accused in multiple sexual battery cases and a fatal assault in Visalia was arrested in Alaska, police said. (Visalia PD)
12 hours ago

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists outside his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

13 hours ago

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend