JANUARY 20, 2004
Dogfights busted
Authorities arrest 123 in one of largest dogfighting
raids in Georgia history

BY PAT HOGAN
A team of law enforcement officials from all over the state stormed a Newton County home late Saturday night and subsequently arrested 123 individuals in one of the largest dogfighting raids in Georgia history.

In addition to the arrests, authorities took 14 pit bulls into custody -- at least two of which have since been euthanized -- along with around three pounds of marijuana, a number of firearms, over 60 vehicles and nearly $300,000 in cash, according to Newton County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Mark Mitchell.

"Nobody got away," Newton County Sheriff Joe Nichols said. "We had a helicopter with lights that came in the same time we busted through the gate.

"The helicopter was right overhead with flood lights, and we only had one runner. That was the guy outside cooking chicken on the grill that they were serving inside."

According to Nichols, the high stakes dogfight, which attracted gamblers from all over the United States, was originally planned to occur near Macon, but was later moved to the Baker Road residence in Newton County.

"The fight was supposed to go on down in Macon," Nichols said. "For some reason, they were going to have it in Jones County.

"They know about dogfighting down there, because they have a lot of it. The sheriff in Jones County actually told me that they thought the fight was moving south. They had no idea that it was going to be moved up here, and, even then, they thought it was going to be in Walton County.

"Of course, with my luck, it ended up here."

Authorities in the Macon area, including both Bibb and Jones counties, had apparently been working on the investigation for some time, but were not aware that the location of the dogfight, which has apparently been named the "Georgia Combine," had been moved to
Newton County until sometime Saturday afternoon.

The contrast between the two sets of evidence that Newton County Sheriff Joe Nichols displays is appalling.

On one side of the county's brand new Law Enforcement Center, placed on the desk of Lt. Keith Crum for safekeeping are four giant trophies complete with shiny red and blue pillars and gold cups and a wooden
plaque to commemorate the 2004 "Georgia Combine" and appreciate the "hard work" that it took to bring 123 dogfighting enthusiasts together under one Newton County roof.

On the other side of the building, stacked inside an evidence garage, are a number of plywood boards stained with the blood of who knows how many abused pitbulls.

The sight is ghastly in itself, but the smell of the boards is perhaps more disturbing --the undeniable odor of blood, sweat and urine, probably mixed in with the odor of a thousand cigarettes, cigars, joints and crack pipes, stained with spilled beers, scuffed with
dozens of boot marks from frustrated gamblers and scratched with the claw marks of countless dying dogs that could have just as easily been playing fetch or sunning on a back porch.

Somewhere in between the two collections of evidence, down a dimly lit hallway inside a jail that was not supposed to be open yet, over 120 people were jailed Saturday night after a staggering raid on a dogfighting facility in Newton County.

The scene of the raid, the newly acquired residence of Tameka Marks, 464 Baker Road, is equally disturbing.

Tucked behind a bend on Baker Road in a discreet
corner of Newton County less than a mile from the very same jail where those arrested would spend the night, is a house that appears to have been hit with a bomb.

Not a single window remains intact, evidence of a mad dash by the inhabitants to escape camouflaged SWAT members and deputies who struck while gambling sentries were taking cover from the rain.