58 charges, 14 dogs seized: York man jailed after pit bull attacks woman, sheriff says
A York County man faces 58 charges after deputies found evidence of dog fighting, and 14 pit bulls in abusive conditions, deputies said.
Ronald Edward Faulkenberry Jr., 38, was served arrest warrants Tuesday, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
Faulkenberry was already in jail after being arrested Friday, sheriff and court records show.
Deputies found a fighting pit and animals Saturday on Sawmill Road in Hickory Grove, west of York in rural York County. Faulkenberry’s 70-year-old great-aunt had been attacked and bitten when one of the dogs got loose, Faris said.
Faulkenberry faces nine South Carolina state-level charges, Faris said.
Faulkenberry is charged with one count of animal fighting and eight counts of ill treatment of animals, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald.
Animal fighting is a felony in South Carolina that carries up to five years for a conviction, state law shows.
The ill treatment of animals charges are misdemeanors that carry a potential penalty of 90 days per conviction under South Carolina law. Faulkenberry was charged with the ill treatment of animals after veterinarians examined the dogs seized by York County Animal Control on Saturday, Faris said.
Ill treatment of animals is defined as, “A person who knowingly or intentionally overloads, overdrives, overworks, or ill-treats an animal, deprives an animal of necessary sustenance or shelter, inflicts unnecessary pain or suffering upon an animal, or by omission or commission knowingly or intentionally causes these acts to be done,” state law shows.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said illegal animal fighting and treatment of dogs will not be tolerated by law enforcement
“This incident speaks to the viciousness and violent nature of raising animals for the purpose of fighting and unfortunately caused very serious and unnecessary harm to an innocent and unintended victim,” Tolson said.
Faulkenberry also faces York County charges that allege violations of tethering rules and other problems with safety of the animals, according to arrest warrants. Those charges include 11 counts of violation of county restraint rules; eight counts of inadequate water for animals; six counts of violation of York County spay rules for female dogs; 12 counts of improper shelter for animals; and 12 counts of violation of rabies rules, warrants show.
Sheriff’s office Incident reports show deputies responded to three calls in a 24-hour span Friday and Saturday. Friday, deputies responding to a disturbance call found Faulkenberry was wanted on York County Family Court bench warrants. He was arrested and jailed, reports show.
The woman was bitten Saturday around 1:30 p.m, prompting deputies to return., according to a second sheriff’s office incident report. When on scene for the dog bite, deputies saw what they believed was a dog fighting pit, then got search warrants, according to a third sheriff’s office incident report. Deputies found the dogs, according to the third incident report.
A dozen of the dogs did not have rabies shots and were without shelter, and eight of the animals had no water, deputies said in the report.
Eleven dogs were found chained to the ground, the report stated. Several of the animals had scars consistent with dog fighting, the report stated. Deputies found a dog training sled and sticks used to separate animals during fights, the report stated.
Faulkenberry remains in the York County jail.
