Comments on: Small Town Political Gazette

by: walt moffett

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:02:06 +0000

Dunno about great but you are right about stories that show the nitty gritty of politics and governing. A town council that spends two hours debating a $500 purchase and ten minutes on buying a $50k grader is democracy at its finest.

by: William Wyatt Wallace

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:40:16 +0000

Walt this is a great new feature, sometimes the best stories come from small market papers.

by: walt moffett

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:27:21 +0000

Thanks for posting this. Animal cruelty is an issue we need to keep in mind. Do like the judge comment.

by: Pookie

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:58:22 +0000

Dothan Eagle - Cottonwood man gets 102 years in dog fighting case - By Matt Elofson

A judge sentenced 42-year-old Johnny Ray Lewis this morning to serve more than 100 years in prison on dog fighting-related charges a jury convicted him of last month.

Houston County Circuit Court Judge Ed Jackson sentenced Lewis to six years in prison for each of the 17 dogs police seized as part of the dog fighting case filed against him. A jury convicted Lewis on Sept. 27, on 17 felonies for possessing dogs with the intent to train them for fighting. He faced a possible sentence of a year and a day up to 10 years per charge.

Jackson said he sentenced Lewis to what he called a “mid-range” sentence.

“It is a type of case that is sensitive to the public,” Jackson said as he announced the sentence.

Derek Yarbrough, Lewis’ lawyer, told the court his client planned to the appeal the case. Jackson set an appeal bond of $85,000, at $5,000 per charge in the case.

For more information in the case see Wednesday’s Dothan Eagle.