Placerville man sentenced to 15 months in prison for breeding dogs for fighting ring
A Placerville man found in possession of 27 dogs trained for fighting was sentenced Monday in federal court to 15 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court evidence showed that Carlos Villasenor bred, trained and sold dogs for animal fighting from his property dating back to at least 2009, and that he further engaged dogs in fights as well as transporting them to Mexico.
Villasenor was charged in a 27-count indictment in June 2021 for possession of dogs for an animal fighting venture, according to a 2021 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
Villasenor, 40, who pleaded guilty in December 2022, was also ordered by the court to pay a $5,500 fine and a $2,700 special assessment.
Sounds of dogfighting heard from Villasenor’s property were reported in September 2020, according to federal prosecutors, and law enforcement seized nearly 30 dogs from the property on June 17, 2021, through a federal search warrant. One of the dogs seized included a chihuahua mix, which was used as a “bait dog.”
Several of the animals “had untreated veterinary conditions,” and the face of one dog showed injuries consistent with a dog attack, according to the news release.
The search warrant revealed that half of the dogs were chained up in sight of each other, just out of reach, in order to stir up feelings of aggression in the animals. Court evidence, including phone records, showed Villasenor sold dogs to clientele both within and outside of California, but primarily built a reputation with buyers outside the West Coast.
“I didn’t intend for my life to turn out this way. I was just breeding dogs and I did love the dogs as hard as it is for you to hear that,” Villasenor wrote in a statement to the court on Wednesday.
The investigation was led by a U.S. Department of Agriculture special agent, who bought a dog undercover from Villasenor in May 2021 for $1,500, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
The federal search warrant also found evidence of dogfighting trade, including a breeding stand, treadmills and various veterinary supplies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.