BY IRIS B. HOLTON

Sentinel City Editor

After several hours of deliberation that began Wednesday afternoon, a Hillsborough County jury convicted a Tampa man of 2 felonies and a misdemeanor. If convicted of all charges, he could have faced more than 30 years in prison.

The trial stems from the April 1, 2008, arrest of Maurice Bayless, 49, at his residence. He was charged with 13 crimes pertaining to the illegal sport of dog fighting. The charges ranged from owning equipment for animal fighting to actually promoting the fights. He was also charged with possession of drugs.

On Thursday, Bayless was convicted of 1 count of possession of a controlled substance, 1 count of promoting animal fighting. He was also found guilty of 1 misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana.

He is facing a maximum of 17 years in prison.

Maurice Bayless… Convicted of 2 felonies and 1 misdemeanor in dog fighting case

Three days after Bayless was arrested, Ms. Celena Danielle Brantley, 36, who listed the same Selbourne Avenue, South address, was arrested as a co-defendant in the case.

Ms. Brantley faced 14 criminal charges similar to Bayless. She was convicted of all charges filed against her including owning equipment for animal fighting, promoting animal fighting baiting, breeding, owning and possessing animals for fighting, [private]possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.

She was convicted earlier and will be sentenced January 7, 2011. She is facing a maximum of more than 30 years in prison.

According to a Hillsborough County Animal Services spokesperson, Ms. Brantley is possibly the first woman in the country to be convicted of dog fighting.

Police responded to the residence after receiving numerous complaints from neighbors.

The state alleges the pit bull dogs were tethered on chains, infested with parasites, and were flea bitten.

Officials also confiscated weighted collars, medical equipment to treat injured dogs, equipment to build muscle in the dogs, and records, books, and other paraphernalia. It was also allegedly recorded that one dog reportedly fought for 4½ hours.

Eight of the puppies were confiscated and adopted out. The ten adult dogs were deemed too aggressive and were euthanized.

Mark Cox, spokesperson for the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said trials for dog fighting are rare in this county. “This is a rare case. The cases we normally prosecute are for animal abuse or neglect.”

Attorney Mark Rodriguez represented Bayless in the case. Assistant State Attorney Natalia Silver was the prosecuting attorney.[/private]