Toledo man found guilty of training dogs to fight

10/23/2013

A Toledo man accused of training six American Bull Terriers for dog fighting was found guilty today on five counts of dog fighting.

Carl Steward, 21, of 716 Cherry St., was acquitted on one count of dog fighting relating to a dog that had no scars but was purported to have been kept for breeding purposes.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Gary Cook announced his verdicts about 2 p.m. after hearing testimony Monday and Tuesday in the case. Steward faces up to 18 months in prison on each count when he is sentenced Nov. 20.

Steward took the witness stand in his defense Tuesday claiming he had always liked dogs, had never been involved in dog fighting, and had used a wooden treadmill confiscated from the house where he kept the dogs to train at least one of the dogs for legal treadmill racing competitions.

Authorities seized the six dogs – five of which were badly scarred -- and various equipment typically used in dog fighting operations Jan. 31 after being a called about a suspicious person at a home in the 200 block of South Fearing Boulevard where Steward kept the dogs chained to the floor or in cages.