EAST ST. LOUIS -- Seven southwestern Illinois men who were among more than two dozen suspects swept up last year in the largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history are headed to federal prison.
William Berry of Lebanon, Derrick Courtland and Ricky Stringfellow of Centreville, John Bacon of Fairview Heights, James Milburn III of Prairie du Rocher and Julius Jackson and Joseph Addison of East St. Louis were sentenced Tuesday.
They were involved in a dog fighting conspiracy and among dozens of suspects arrested in Illinois, Missouri and several other states during a series of July raids in which hundreds of dogs were seized.
The prison sentences ranged from one to two years. They also were required to pay unspecified restitution to the Humane Society of Missouri for the care of the seized pit bulls.
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