Four Sumter County men are facing felony charges nearly four years after a dogfighting raid in Eastover rescued 19 dogs and led to 18 arrests at the scene. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division says Andrew Jeffrey Bryant Jr., 39, Tevin V. Joyner, 32, Orlando Raynell Coullette, 49, and Robert Brandon Hansley, 44, organized the event known as the “Carolina Classic,” which was held on Hallwood Road in Richland County on September 24, 2022.
According to The State, all four men were charged with criminal conspiracy, four counts of animal fighting or baiting, and four counts of ill treatment of animals. Hansley faces an additional charge of presence at a facility of animal fighting or baiting as a first offense. SLED formally issued the arrest warrants on September 17, publicly releasing warrant details four days later, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Officers went to serve a search warrant at the Hallwood Road address in 2022 and found two dogs fighting inside the pit while people watched, per SLED affidavits. Dozens of spectators fled into nearby woods as officers moved in, and a number of people were arrested at the scene that day, with spectators reportedly having traveled from across South Carolina to watch the tournament, according to The Sumter Item.
Years-Long Investigation Finally Catches Up to Organizers
While 18 attendees were arrested on site back in 2022, SLED charged the alleged organizers this month, per the same account. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office and the Sumter Police Department assisted SLED with the investigation and the arrests of the four men, since the event took place in Richland County while the key suspects lived in Sumter County.
All four suspects were booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County, with prosecution assigned to the 5th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office led by Solicitor Byron E. Gipson, whose office prosecutes state felony cases in Richland and Kershaw counties.
What the Charges Actually Carry
Under South Carolina Code Section 16-27-30, part of the state's Animal Fighting and Baiting Act, conduct including owning animals for fighting, causing fights, acquiring locations for fights, or permitting locations to be used for fights is a felony punishable by a $5,000 fine or five years' imprisonment, according to Justia Law. With four counts each of animal fighting and ill treatment of animals, alongside conspiracy charges, the exposure for Bryant, Joyner, Coullette, and Hansley is substantial.
Hansley's added charge is for presence at a facility of animal fighting or baiting as a first offense.
Part of the Largest Dogfighting Bust in State History
The 2022 raid that swept up Bryant, Joyner, Coullette, and Hansley's alleged operation was part of a much larger multi-agency state and federal takedown. That weekend, authorities executed more than two dozen search warrants across six South Carolina counties, rescuing 305 dogs in what the U.S. Attorney's Office called the largest dogfighting takedown in state history, with officers also seizing 30 firearms and $40,000 in cash.
Federal and state authorities used confidential informants and SLED aviation surveillance during the broader investigation, according to the Post and Courier. Investigators reportedly identified an indoor fighting pit with blood spatter at a Sumter County property and a mobile outdoor pit during that broader investigation.
A Troubled Jail Awaits Processing
The Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where all four men were booked, has drawn its own scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Justice completed a 14-month civil rights investigation into the Columbia facility in January 2025, concluding it suffered from unconstitutional conditions, pervasive inmate violence, and severe staffing shortages.
SLED maintains a dedicated toll-free tip line at (866) 472-8477, along with an email system at [email protected], specifically to gather public intelligence on illegal dogfighting and animal cruelty operations statewide. As with all criminal cases, the charges against Bryant, Joyner, Coullette, and Hansley remain allegations unless and until proven in court.
