Ex-AZ Cardinals back LeShon Johnson gets 5 years in federal prison for massive dogfighting ring
27 Oct 1996: Running back Leshon Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the ball during a 31-21 loss to the New York Jets at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. (Stephen Dunn/ALLSPORT)
PHOENIX - Former Arizona Cardinals running back LeShon Johnson is heading to federal prison for five years after running a massive, nationwide dogfighting and trafficking ring out of Oklahoma.
What we know:
Johnson, who played three seasons for the Cardinals in the mid-1990s, was sentenced Thursday to 60 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine following his conviction on six federal dogfighting charges. Federal agents rescued 190 pit bulls from his property — the largest single-individual dog seizure in federal law enforcement history.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence at trial showing Johnson ran a profitable, large-scale breeding operation under the name "Mal Kant Kennels" starting as early as 2007. Johnson advertised his dogs online as "champions" and "grand champions" — titles earned by surviving three to five illegal fights — and sold puppies from winning bloodlines while collecting lucrative stud fees, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit profits.
Screen grabs of a video sent by Johnson of one of his dogs. (DOJ)
Dig deeper:
The federal conviction marks the second major animal cruelty bust for the former NFL back, who was a college football standout at Northern Illinois University in 1993, earning unanimous All-American honors and placing sixth in Heisman Trophy voting. Johnson previously pleaded guilty to state dogfighting charges in Oklahoma back in 2004 under a prior business name, "Krazyside Kennels."
What they're saying:
"LeShon Johnson will face justice for building another particularly egregious and violent dogfighting scheme," said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. "As Johnson was well aware, dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states."
Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office added, "The animals in this case were defenseless, and the defendant used them to harm each other for his entertainment."
The joint federal investigation that brought down his revived ring was spearheaded by the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Justice Department's Energy and Natural Resources Division.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from the U.S. Department of Justice.