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Federal prison employee indicted in Florida dogfighting ring

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal prison employee has been indicted in connection with a large-scale dogfighting operation that involved more than 100 dogs, the U.S. Attorney for Northern Florida announced on Tuesday.

Prison employee Decarlise Chapman joined Jermaine Terrell Hadley and Leonard Safford, who had previously been indicted in June, along with several others who have since pleaded guilty.

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The three men face 51 counts on federal dogfighting offenses, U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe said. They face as many as 5 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.

A federal grand jury revised its indictments following additional investigation by an organized crime task force looking into a drug trafficking ring. During its investigation, authorities discovered an extensive dogfighting network that operated across northern Florida since 2014.