SLED Charges 11 Men in Dillon and Marion counties Following Dogfighting Investigation

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged the following subjects on Wednesday, April 2, 2025:

• Robert Kendale Adams, 41, was charged with Animal Fighting, Criminal Conspiracy, Ill Treatment of Animals, Trafficking Marijuana, and Possession of Less Than One Gram of Meth – 1st offense.
• Gavin Mandell Miles, 44, was charged with Unlawfully Placing a Child at Risk, Animal Fighting, Ill Treatment of Animals, Possession of Cocaine Base – 2nd offense, Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance – 1st offense, Possession of a Controlled Substance – 1st Offense, and Criminal Conspiracy.
• James Maurice Bethea, 50, was charged with Criminal Conspiracy, Ill Treatment of Animals, and Animal Fighting.
• Jonathon Ja’Teil Lester, 22, was charged with 3 counts of Animal Fighting, and 3 counts of Ill Treatment of Animals.

The following subjects were charged by SLED on Thursday, April 3, 2025:

• Larry Darnel Mack, Jr., 49, was charged with Animal Fighting and Ill Treatment of Animals.
• Christopher Terrell Jordan, 32, was charged with Animal Fighting, Ill Treatment of Animals, Criminal Conspiracy, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Convicted of Certain Crimes – 1st offense, Possession of a Weapon During a Violent Crime, Possession of Crack Cocaine, Possession of Ketamine, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Oxycodone, Possession of Alprazolam, Possession of a Stolen Pistol, Trafficking Cocaine, Trafficking Fentanyl, and Trafficking 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
• Anthony Dante Gause, 44, was charged with Criminal Conspiracy, Animal Fighting, and Ill Treatment of Animals.
• Wade Rodeon Shipman, 61, was charged with Criminal Conspiracy.
• Sammy Junior McCormick, 45, was charged with Animal Fighting and Ill Treatment of Animals.
• Blake Alexander Rogers, 29, was charged with Animal Fighting and Ill Treatment of Animals.

Tyquan Tymore Rogers, 24, was charged in Dillon County on Friday, April 4, 2025, with Criminal Conspiracy.

Details can be found in the attached warrants.

Adams, Miles, Bethea, and Lester were booked into the Dillon County Detention Center on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.

Mack, Jr., Jordan, Gause, McCormick, and Blake Alexander Rogers were booked into the Marion County Detention Center on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Tyquan Tymore Rogers was booked into the Dillon County Detention Center on Friday, April 4, 2025.

SLED was assisted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the Summerville Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Mullins Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the South Carolina National Guard Governor's Counterdrug Task Force, the South Carolina National Guard Readiness Center, the Mullins Fire Department, as well as several local fire departments in Dillon County.

The operation resulted in the rescue of 160 dogs, as well as the seizure of $69,700 in cash, approximately 55 firearms, 17 pounds of marijuana, 11 grams of crack cocaine, 1 kilogram of cocaine, 2 grams of ketamine, 990 round blue fentanyl pills, and 2,266 ecstasy (MDMA) pills.

The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.

If you have information regarding suspected dog fighting in South Carolina, report it to the SLED Dogfighting Unit at tips@sled.sc.gov.

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For media inquiries, please email SLED’s Public Information Office: pio@sled.sc.gov.

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