A routine check on cars parked along Jim Heard Road late Friday night turned into one of Hart County's largest animal cruelty busts in recent memory, with deputies arresting 26 people connected to what the sheriff's office described as a large dogfighting operation. Dogs, firearms and cash were seized, and 26 vehicles were towed from the scene before the night was over.
It started just before 11:30 p.m. on October 30, 2026, when a Hart County Sheriff's Office deputy responded to find several vehicles parked on both sides of the roadway near the end of Jim Heard Road, according to 921wlhr.com. The deputy heard dogs barking and growling from a nearby wooded area and spotted dog crates loaded into the backs of some of the vehicles — several of which appeared to have blood on them, the outlet reported.
Three men on a nearby path tried to flee when they noticed the deputy, and others scattered into the surrounding woods, per the same account. The deputy arrested one man on the spot while the rest ran. From there, the response escalated quickly, pulling in outside help to track down everyone who had bolted.
Drones and K-9 Units Flush Out Hiding Suspects
Law enforcement brought in three K-9 units and two drones to search the woods and a nearby field, ultimately locating 20 people who had been hiding, the sheriff's office said. Four more people who arrived at the scene afterward were determined to be connected to the operation and were arrested, while two additional people found walking along a nearby roadway were also linked to the case, according to 921wlhr.com.
By the time the operation wrapped, deputies said 26 people in total had been arrested and charged with dogfighting and cruelty to animals. The response drew in deputies from the Elbert County Sheriff's Office and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, along with an agent from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, 921wlhr.com reported.
Suspects Traveled From Nine States
Hart County Sheriff Chris Carroll said the investigation uncovered a large dogfighting operation involving individuals from multiple states, as reported by wyff4.com. Three of those arrested came from Georgia, the station's report notes, but those detained had traveled from well beyond the county line — including Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Michigan, Texas, New York, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Among those named by Fox Carolina were Terrance Franklin Davis, 48, of Dothan, Alabama; Monty Henry, 33, of Washington, D.C.; Gregory Jermaine McCallun, 47, of Jackson, Mississippi; and Tazmorronta Hollowell, 52, of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. Fox Carolina's list also included Georgia residents Patrick Oneal Heard, 48, of Elberton, and Ronald Greg Cunningham, 55, of Bowman, along with Rodriguez Deangelo Bell, 43, of McDonough.
Per WSPA, Raymond Elusta Richo, 55, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Kristi Lakiah Watkins, 37, of Jackson, Mississippi, were also taken into custody. Other names connected to the arrests included Cory Lavon Edwards of Pontiac, Michigan; Curtis Franklin of Rochester, New York; and Jonathan C. Primus of Charleston, West Virginia, according to WRDW.
Investigation Remains Open as More Charges Loom
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming, 921wlhr.com reported. Officials have not disclosed how many dogs were recovered, what became of them, or who may have organized the operation on Jim Heard Road.
Dogfighting cases like this one aren't unique to Hart County. A prosecutor quoted by NPR noted that dogfighting can happen anywhere but is especially prevalent in the rural South, where space and weather conditions make it easier to house dogs outdoors. That same report detailed the case of Vincent Lemark Burrell, a Georgia man a jury found guilty of 93 counts of dogfighting and 10 counts of cruelty to animals, who was later sentenced to 475 years in prison after a judge imposed consecutive maximum sentences on 103 counts.
921wlhr.com also noted that one of those arrested in Hart County, Patrick Heard, was previously arrested in a South Carolina dogfighting case in April 2024 that saw 13 men taken into custody at the scene. For now, Hart County investigators say the case is far from closed, with the possibility of more arrests and charges still on the table.
