A Hannibal man has been sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to three felony counts of dog fighting in Ralls County.
Two state investigators reported videotaping and witnessing six canine fights on June 27, 2009 outside the rural Hannibal home of 31-year-old James Lester Culp, II.
Authorities say one of the other people who attended the fight was 40-year-old Michael Morgan, a neighbor of Culp.
Morgan pleaded guilty in December of 2009 to two federal charges and was sentenced to a year in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
The arrest was part of a wide-ranging crackdown on illegal dog fighting involving 26 people in seven states and more than 500 dogs.
Authorities at the time said Morgan was nicknamed “Missouri Mike” in the world of animal fighting.
Another area defendant, 58-year-old Robert Hackman of Foley, admitted to operating a breeding operation that supplied pit bulls for fights. He got the same sentence as Morgan.
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