Stoddard County man pleads guilty to three dogfighting charges

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — A Stoddard County man pleaded guilty to three felony counts of dogfighting Wednesday, and the state dropped 21 of the original felony charges he faced.

Jamie D. Sifford, 30, of Dudley, Mo., received a sentence of three years in prison for each charge, to run concurrently with each other.

In addition, Sifford was sentenced to six years for a probation revocation that Circuit Judge Stehpen Sharp ruled on July 7. The probation revocation came about as a result of the string of dogfighting and drug possession charges filed against him in October.

Stoddard County and Humane Society of Missouri investigators raided Sifford's Dudley property on Oct. 20 and found items they claimed indicated that dogfighting occurred on the farm.

Sifford was on probation for drug charges stemming from a 2006 guilty plea at the time of the search.

Sharp heard more than four-and-a-half hours of testimony July 7 before deciding that a preponderance of the evidence showed Sifford had violated his probation.

An investigator with the humane society tesified at that hearing, describing the first aid supplies, treadmill and carpeted horse stall officers found when they searched the residence.

The stall, the investigator said, was used as the "ring" where dogfights were hosted.

Jasper N. Edmundson, Sifford's attorney, argued that all of the items seized by investigators had legitmate uses, and that Sifford had been using them to prepare his pit bull dogs for shows.

The stall was used for birthing purposes, and one of the female dogs had just had puppies, Sifford said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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